Beautiful Disaster
by E. Rayne
Summary: Sora is an island boy forced into city life when his mother decides to move them to Traverse Town. There he meets Riku, an extremly talented artist. Now he must deal with city life, snotty private schools, and coming to terms with his own sexuality.
1. There'd Be No Sand in Traverse Town

_Beautiful Disaster_

_By: ScarletDreams _

Disclaimer: All characters, most places things etc. belong to Square-Enix and Disney…or whatever, I don't own anything…so…don't sue me ok?

**Chapter One**

_There'd Be No Sand in Traverse Town_

Sora glared at his reflection in his mother's full-length mirror. It was an unusual choice of wardrobe for someone who grew up on Destiny Islands, a place where shorts, flip-flops and bathing suits made up the majority of peoples wardrobes. The stiff dark blue uniform pants fell all the way to his shoes. For the first time in god knows how many years Sora was actually wearing shoes, the kind that bunched up your feet in tight leather allowing absolutely no space to breathe. His crisp button down white shirt was tucked into his waist and the burgundy blazer was thick and itchy. He was convinced the navy tie he was forced to wear was slowly strangling him.

'If Tidus could see me now...' he thought shaking his head as he remembered his old friends from Destiny Islands...Destiny Islands itself. It was only August, back on Destiny Islands his summer vacation would be in the middle, here it was already his first day of school.

Sighing he made his way downstairs. The twists and turns of the hall confused him and there was no doubt in his mind he'd wake up in the middle of the night and not be able to find the bathroom. The houses here were so large, unlike in Destiny Islands. Making his way down the carpeted stairs he entered the kitchen, welcomed by the warm smell of pancakes 'At least one thing hasn't changed,' he thought to himself. His mother made the best pancakes, and she always made them for him on his first day of school. So what if it happened a little earlier, the smell was intoxicating.

"Oh, don't you just look adorable!" she exclaimed as he sat at the table.

He rolled his eyes as he began to drown his pancakes in maple syrup. Noticing his uncomfortableness Emmy sat next to him taking his hand in hers.

"I understand you miss your friends, and your school, and your vacation...but that's all behind us now," she continued despite Sora's protests. "Traverse Town is our home now. Think of it this way, no one knows you here, you can be whoever you want to be, discover new things about yourself, who knows, you may end up liking what you become," she said with a wink.

Sora rolled his eyes, "Whatever" he mumbled stuffing as much of the pancake in his mouth as he could. He didn't want to 'reinvent' himself; he didn't want to make new friends. He wanted to climb palm trees on the island and have rowing races with Kairi. He wanted to spar with Tidus and go paupou searching with Wakka and Selphie. All he wanted was to feel the warm sand stick to his damp feet as he walked home after a day at the beach with his friends. But as Sora finished his breakfast, and made his way to his mom's "new" used car (new in the sense that she just bought it) Sora reluctantly realized, there'd be no sand in Traverse Town.

Sora's eyes widened as he caught sight of the gargantuan building. It looked like a castle with towers and vines crawling up the sides and curling around the gargoyles that stood guard atop the buildings. Students were all over the grounds, separated into little clusters of friends, each dressed in the same uniform, exchanging stories of their summer vacations and experiences. Everyone seemed to have his or her own friends, and in about five minutes Sora would emerge from the beat up Toyota to disrupt the natural order of Hikari Academy.

Doing his best rendition of a pleading puppy, Sora turned to his mom who laughed and merely kissed him on the cheek and kicked him out of the car. Sora looked through the window of the car; catching her worried yet hopeful glance he sent her a reassuring grin, his famous contagious, cheesy grin. She smiled back, and even though she was reassured Sora was anything but.

Emmy smiled as she saw Sora make his way to the school, lost in his own thoughts as usual. He may have failed to notice the petite girl running at full speed but she didn't. He may have not noticed that one more step from him, and one more step from her would send them colliding and tumbling to the ground, but _she_ didn't. As her one and only son lay on the grass, hopelessly tangled with a young girl, Emmy drove away finally convinced that Sora would be able to make friends after all.

"I'm so so _so_ sorry!" the girl exclaimed climbing off of the groaning Sora. She scrambled to her feet and stood over him. Her black hair fell into her face as she leaned over him. Her blue skirt was now wrinkled and her white shirt had come un-tucked. The blue bow around the collar that the girls were supposed to wear was missing and her eyes seemed to just dance with emotions. Sora stood up, inspecting a particularly bad grass stain on his left elbow.

"Don't worry about it, it was a mistake right?" he said smiling. The girls face lit up.

"I'm Yuffie, you're new here aren't you?" she asked reaching out a hand for Sora to grasp.

"I'm Sora and is it that obvious?" he laughed as she pulled him to his feet.

"Kind of, you-" her sentence was cut off as she heard the school bell chime. "OH MY GOD! I'M REALLY REALLY LATE!" she exclaimed attempting to tuck in her shirt and run at the same time, which ended with her colliding with another student.

Sora laughed to himself. Traverse Town was a strange city.

"301...room 301..." Sora mumbled to himself as he alternated between glancing up at the numbers above the doors, and the homeroom printed on his schedule card. The numbers on the card finally matched with the large black ones printed on a wooden door. He raised his fist to knock on the door when it suddenly pulled open; an angry female in her late thirties stood there, blonde hair in a tight bun and a long brown dress that swept across the floor. Half moon glasses stood on her nose and her tiny features were fixed in a dark scowl.

"Your late." she stated bluntly. Sora laughed nervously.

"Uh...yea, about that. It's my first day and I really don't know my way arou-" Sora's eyes fell on the clock in back of the woman. It was only 7: 55...he was five minutes early. "Wait, I'm not late, it's only 7:55"

The woman looked absolutely horrified "YOU ARE NOT ONTIME UNTIL YOU ARE 10 MINUTES EARLY!" she exclaimed griping the edges of the door. Sora stepped back slightly disturbed.

"Uhm...I'm sorry?" he asked rather than stated.

Sighing dramatically the woman opened the door widely so he could step through. Sora entered the large classroom. A chalkboard hung at one end of the room and in front of it was the teacher's desk. Rows and Rows of double desks stretched out in front of him.

"My name is Mrs. Normura; I am your homeroom teacher. I assume you are Sora. Class this is Sora, those of you who care will ask him yourselves about his private issues, I however, will not waste valuable class time on it. Sora, take whatever seat you wish."

Raising an eyebrow Sora scanned the classroom, Yuffie was there waving at him, he offered her a weak wave and thought of sitting next to her but the seat was already filled by a pretty brunette with green eyes.

"Any day now Mr. Sora!" the teacher said tapping her desk impatiently. He offered her a small smile before taking the first empty seat he saw, which just happened to be all the way in the back.

Sora found himself blushing as he sat beside the boy who was to be his desk mate, not quite sure why. The boy was extremely handsome with bright aquamarine eyes and pale skin, shoulder length silver hair fell into his face as he bent over a sketchbook, intent on his drawing. Sora shook his head, 'Stop staring,' he mentally scolded himself.

Sora had known for a while now that he wasn't like other boys his age. He didn't think of girls, how Tidus and Wakka did. It wasn't until after a kiss with Kairi during a truth or dare game that he was officially sure that he wasn't interested in them _at all_. He didn't know what he was, he knew for a fact that he didn't like girls, but he wasn't sure whether he liked boys either. Was it possible to be indifferent on such a thing?

But as Sora observed his desk mate more he couldn't help but note how, as Selphie would put it, drool worthy he was.

He never looked up from his drawing at all. The bell rang signaling the ending of homeroom and the class began to file out.

The boy, seemingly oblivious to the bell did not move. As the class left and the new class started filing in Sora gathered his books, putting them in his bag and standing up. Noticing the boy still did not move Sora gently nudged him.

"E-excuse me," Sora said tapping his shoulder "Uhm...Homeroom is over."

As if waking from a trance the boy looked up from his sketchpad. He looked at Sora confused before the sound of the late bell registered in his brain.

"Oh...uh...thanks," he muttered as he slung his book bag over his shoulder, gathering his sketchpad in his hands.

"I'm Sora." Sora said as he held open the back door for the boy.

"Riku."

Sora smiled as he fell into step beside the boy, "So...what were you drawing?"

Riku raised a silver eyebrow, "What?"

"All during homeroom, what were you drawing?" Sora continued to smile.

"A picture."

Sora's smile faded but quickly came back. "So, what class do you have now anyway?"

Riku glanced at his new schedule card "Art, you?"

Sora glanced down at his card with a frown, "Drama...in room 301."

Riku laughed running a hand through his silver hair, "Uh, Sora, we just left room 301."

Sora's blue eyes widened with realization 'STUPID!' he thought as he immediately began running back down the hall toward the room. "Nice to meet you Riku!" he called as he raced back to the room.

The rest of Sora's day passed by in an unorganized blur. He was confused and the teachers had no sympathy. It seemed being late to their classes was the most disrespectful thing you could do, and Sora had been late to each and every one of his classes. Even this one, which caused him to stand in the back of a very, very long line, clutching an orange tray to his chest as his stomach grumbled loudly. Several students turned to look at him and he could only smile sheepishly while mentally kicking himself.

"Hey! Sora! Over here!"

Leaning outside of the line Sora caught sight of Yuffie and the brunette, who were already almost at the front of the line. Suddenly grateful for his habit of bumping into random people Sora made his way over to them.

"Sora, this is my friend Aerith." Yuffie said smiling. The brunette from earlier smiled her greeting.

"Nice to meet you," she said in a shy voice motioning for Sora to cut in front of her as his stomach once again shook the lunchroom. Thanking her he gladly took the place.

"Is all this food for _us_?" Sora exclaimed as he laid eyes on the enormous platter set in front of them. There were platters with sandwiches and hotdogs, pizza, tacos, hamburgers, all the food one could ever hope to have for lunch was right there so no craving would ever go unsatisfied. On the far right of the lunchroom were vending machines that dealt everything from Chips to ice cream.

Yuffie nodded, "Yup!"

Immediately Sora began to pile his tray up with everything he could get his hands on.

"Careful Sora, the lunch period is only 45 minutes," Yuffie said as she placed a simple hamburger and fries on her tray.

Again Sora laughed as they waited for Aerith to decide which salad she wanted before heading into the giant mass of students. Every table seemed to be exclusive with only certain people allowed to sit.

"Welcome to Hikari Academy, better known as Stereotype high." Yuffie said sarcastically.

Sora looked at her quizzically.

"Look, see that table, those are the Gothic's, over there are the jocks, I'm sure somewhere around here is a table for cheerleaders. There's a wannabe table…oh I'm sure there's a table here for every high school stereo type ever thought of," Yuffie said exasperated. "This school is filled with a bunch of rich snobby ass holes, I'm sick of it!"

"But, you've been here for a while, haven't you Yuffie?" Sora asked "Where do you sit?"

Yuffie smiled and prepared to elaborate but was cut off as someone was heard calling her name very loudly.

"YUFFIE! HEY! YUFFIE!"

All three turned to see a blonde boy with odd spiky hair standing on a chair and waving his arms frantically in the air. A brunette sat beside him looking thoroughly embarrassed and annoyed.

"Sit down you idiot!" he exclaimed pulling on the blonde's blazer so he went toppling into the chair.

"We sit with them," Yuffie said smugly before she began walking toward the table.

"Sora, meet Cloud, Cloud this is Sora," she said motioning to the blonde.

He smiled putting out his hand "Hey! Nice to meet ya! You're new right?"

Sora mentally groaned as he said that. Was it _really_ that obvious?

"The ice cube sitting next to him is Leon."

The brunette looked up from his book at the mention of his name and offered Sora a nod as he sat down, ignoring his outstretched hand.

"Don't worry Sora," Cloud said smiling warmly "He practices his asshole routine twice a day in the mirror, just to get it right."

"Fuck off Strife," the brunette said returning to his book.

"Not in public Leon, not in public."

The table laughed at that point and Sora couldn't help but smile.

"Did you find you drama class alright?" a deep, yet soft voice asked from across the table.

Sora nearly choked on his drink when he saw Riku, "Oh…uh…yea, thanks."

He noticed Yuffie and Aerith look at each other, as if communicating with their eyes. Sora didn't like it; it made him feel like they knew something he didn't.

"So you're a sophmore right Sora?" Cloud asked trying to keep the conversation.

"Yup, what about you?"

"Leon and I are seniors," he said with a sort of chuckle as the brunette glared at him. Private Joke? Sora was seriously lost. "Do you play Blitz Ball?"

"I've messed around with it a little, but I've never played seriously." Sora said as he finished his third slice of pizza.

"That's too bad." Cloud said, "Blitz ball tryouts are next week, hoping we could get something new for the team."

Leon abruptly closed his book. _'Not very social,'_ Sora thought.

"We have to be at the computer lab Cloud; I don't want to be late."

Cloud stuck his tongue out at the brunette, "Your so anti-social Leon."

"Whatever," the brunette mumbled before walking away.

"Nice meeting you Sora," Cloud said slinging his backpack over his shoulder. "See you guys later!"

Sora watched the blonde run to catch up with the brunette and begin a one-way conversation. Cloud seemed nice, fun…the polar opposite of Leon, yet they seemed to be pretty good friends.

"So…those are our wacky senior friends." Yuffie said with a smile.

"They act like that in public" Aerith said, "but they're best friends in reality."

Riku closed his sketch book and put it in his book bag, "So Sora, what class do you have next?"

The said brunette nearly choked on his second hotdog as he realized the silver haired boy was addressing him. Aerith and Yuffie exchanged another look before Aerith burst into fits of poorly suppressed giggles.

"Math…a whole block of it." Sora said while looking at his schedule card as if it were written in another language.

"Too bad," Riku said before picking up his own unfinished tray. "See ya around Sora," he mumbled quietly before leaving as well.

As soon as Riku was out of hearing range Aerith and Yuffie broke out into fits of laughter. Sora looked at them, confusion written all over his face. The girls attempted to stop laughing which only made them laugh harder.

"What so funny?" Sora asked.

The girls looked as if they wanted to speak but couldn't they were laughing too hard.

"What is so funny?" Sora repeated as the girls began to turn a bright shade of red.

"You…" Yuffie said between breaths as she tried to control her laughter. "You're so obvious!"

Sora looked at her dumbfounded. "_Ok_…I am?" he asked

Aerith nodded vigorously. "You like Riku!" She exclaimed.

Sora's face turned bright red. "What?" he exclaimed. "NO WAY! I mean…he's…he's a _guy_!"

"So what?" Yuffie said grabbing his fries from his tray, "Is that really such a bad thing?"

Sora played with his straw, "No, I guess not…but…"

Yuffie squealed with delight, "AW you guys will make _such_ a cute couple!" she exclaimed clapping her hands together. Aerith nodded again.

"So…wait. You mean…is…is Riku, does he like other boys?" Sora asked not sure why he wanted to know, and why he was hoping for a certain answer when he himself was indifferent.

Aerith shrugged. "We don't know, but he doesn't seem to interested in girls."

Sora groaned, banging his head on the table, afraid to look up at the smiles of his two new friends, whose eyes showed they were planning something. Something he knew he wouldn't like at all. Or…would he?

**_A/N: FINALLY! Went back and corrected the mistakes. I'm not sure if I caught them all…there were so many. I mean, first fanfics are never perfect, but soooooo many mistakes! Anyway…it's fixed now so Yay._**

_**Reviews are always appreciated.**_

_**Thanks for reading.**_


	2. Hello My Treachourous Friends

_Beautiful Disaster_

_By: ScarletDreams _

Disclaimer: All characters, most places things etc. belong to Square-Enix and Disney…or whatever, I don't own anything…so…don't sue me ok?

**Chapter Two**

_Hello My Treacherous Friends_

"Wakey Wakey!"

Sora groaned as the light in his room turned on. He rolled over attempting to burrow into his comforter and out of the light. He felt the blankets slowly slide off of him.

"Maaaaa," Sora whined rubbing his eyes to adjust them to the light. He glanced at the clock that hung above his desk. "5 am? What the hell?"

Emmy lightly swatted Sora in the back of the head. "Watch your mouth when you speak to your mother! Anyway…I have to work so I can't drive you to school today. Your bus pass is on the table." She said tossing the comforter onto the floor.

"Ok…But…why did you wake me up at five in the morning?" Sora asked.

Emmy shrugged, "Oh, I don't know. I just figured we'd talk a little before I had to leave for work." She said with a smile as she removed several articles of clothing from his desk chair so she could sit down. "We haven't even been here for a week and your room already looks like a pigsty."

Sora blinked, staring at his mother in disbelief. "You woke me up, at 5 am, so we could _bond_?"

Emmy smiled and nodded vigorously, "YUP!" she exclaimed sitting Indian style on the spinning chair. "So how was your first day?"

Sora rolled his eyes as he thought about the day before.

_The girls looked as if they wanted to speak but couldn't they were laughing too hard._

"_What is so funny?" Sora repeated as the girls began to turn a bright shade of red._

"_You…" Yuffie said between breaths as she tried to control her laughter. "You're so obvious!"_

_Sora looked at her dumbfounded. "Ok…I am?" he asked_

_Aerith nodded vigorously. "You like Riku!" She exclaimed._

Emmy noticed a light blush spread on her sons face. "What's her name!" she asked, jumping up in her excitement.

"What?" Sora asked confused.

Emmy laughed and tapped his forehead. "You like someone, silly! It's written all over your face! I want to know all about her! SO, what's her name?"

Sora laughed nervously.

_Sora's face turned bright red. "What?" he exclaimed. "NO WAY! I mean…he's…he's a guy!"_

"Oh, uh, I don't know yet. She's the 'admire from a far' type of girl." he said using all the self-control he could muster to stop from flinching every time he used the word 'she'.

Emmy squealed in delight, "I got to go, but I want to hear all about it when I get home!" she exclaimed kissing him on the forehead before running out the room.

Sora sighed, making his way toward the bathroom. It really was nerve wracking to have your mother so interested in your personal matters.

"Find out her name!" She cried as she opened the front door. "It couldn't hurt!"

Sora tossed his towel on the toilet seat and turned on the shower. He leaned on the sink catching his reflection in the mirror.

"_Is that really such a bad thing?"_

Sora rubbed his forehead, 'Is it really _that_ bad?'

Sora lifted his gaze from the blue and white bus map his mom had provided him with along with the yellow and white student pass. The intersecting lines and multi colored numbers confused him and made his head hurt. Back on Destiny Islands everything was in walking distance and the fastest thing anyone owned on wheels was a bicycle.

He grinned widely as he noticed the bus stop at the end of the block. Folding the map and suppressing the urge to cry out triumphantly Sora made his way down the block confidently.

He heard the massive vehicle before he saw it. Its wheels made a loud squeaking sound as they resumed rotation after momentarily stopping after a red light. He could barely read the advertisement on the side for a movie already long out of theatres. It was larger than some people's houses on Destiny Islands! He watched the bus drive past him, the wind from it's passing pushing him backwards.

Sora panicked as the bus neared the stop. Cursing his tourist like reaction he began to run as fast as he could, attempting in vain to reach the bus stop before the bus.

"Hold on!" Sora cried as he reached the stop out of breath. The bus driver looked right at him before closing the doors and driving away. "HEY!" Sora exclaimed surprised, hurt and embarrassed. He leaned on the bus schedule and attempted to catch his breath. Pouting he turned to look at the timetable. '_If I'm reading this right…which I doubt…" _Sora thought running his finger along one of the many different columns. '_The next bus should be here at 9:30"_ Sora smiled enjoying his small victory before realization dawned on him. "**9:30**!" He exclaimed loudly. Several pigeons that had been lounging on a nearby bench flew away and a woman pulled her daughter closer to her, glaring at Sora before hurrying away.

Sora banged his head against the bus schedule. School began at 8:00 and seeing how uptight his teachers were about tardiness Sora doubted they'd buy his excuse. "Wonderful," he mumbled.

A loud honk startled Sora causing him to jump back resulting in a collision with a street lamp. "Ow," he groaned rubbing his head.

"Need a ride?"

"Yuffie?" Sora asked leaning forward to try and see through the open window.

"The one and only!" she exclaimed flashing the piece sign. "You were looking a little dazed, so…do you need a lift?"

Sora grinned. His day was looking up.

"**NO!**"

Sora's hand jumped away from the handle. Through the window his bright blue eyes met with Aerith's currently wild green ones. Her seat belt was securely fastened and she was tightly gripping the seats arm rests.

"Don't get in here Sora! You're too young and innocent to die!" she exclaimed eyes over flowing with seriousness.

"_Oh please _Aerith," Yuffie said rolling her eyes. "Get in Sora."

Sora hesitated but one look at the bus schedule encouraged him to open the door and climb in. Seeing Aerith's state Sora decided to be better safe than sorry and secured his seat belt into place. As soon as he fastened it he realized Aerith was right.

Yuffie's foot slammed on the gas petal and the car sped forward, running a red light and narrowly missing a collision with a minivan. "Whoo hoo!" she exclaimed changing lanes and quickly passing several cars. Sora's eyes widened as he caught sight of a car heading straight toward them from the opposite direction. Aerith screamed and Yuffie quickly turned into their respective lane, cutting off the bus that had refused to wait for Sora. Yuffie giggled as several horns sounded and she sped forward once again.

"Aw, you guys are no fun!" Yuffie said pouting from her place sitting on the hood of the car. Aerith and Sora were on their hands and knees in the school parking lot, attempting to regulate their racing hearts.

"I am _never_ getting in _any_ vehicle Yuffie's driving ever again!" Sora said trying to catch his breath.

"I tried to warn you," Aerith said, one hand on her chest.

"Hey! Look at it this way you meanies; I got us here in _record_ time. If you were on that bus you wouldn't be here yet." Yuffie said crossing her arms in front of her.

Aerith laughed and straightened up. She walked over to the car, throwing Sora his backpack and reaching in to grab her own. "Thank you so very much Yuffie for risking the lives of us and several innocent bystanders for the sake of being punctual," she said shouldering her book bag.

Yuffie narrowed her eyes, "Do I detect sarcasm?"

Aerith laughed nervously, "Uh…I just remembered, I left…my pencil in the library…got to have that pencil!" she exclaimed before hurrying in the direction of the building.

"HEY! Not so fast!" Yuffie cried as she ran after her friend.

Sora laughed slinging his book bag over his shoulder. '_It's almost nerve wracking how much those two remind me of Selphie and Kairi._' He immediately scolded himself after the thought. Why did he have to continually compare everything to how it used to be on Destiny Islands? '_That part of me is in the past now.' _he attempted to assure himself as he walked along the campus.

Yuffie's driving _had_ got them to school in record timing. So he had a couple of minutes to kill before he had to rush to class in order to be ontime, which was actually ten minutes early. His eyes fell on a fountain in the middle of the grounds. The base was round, so it could catch the water that fell. In the middle of the base, on a platform stood an elegant looking unicorn like figure, with water shooting from the single horn on its forehead. Surrounding the base were several benches students could sit on.

Sora squinted attempting to see the two students who were currently seated on the bench closest to him. He immediately recognized one as Riku. He was sitting Indian style on the bench, with his sketchbook in his lap obviously ignoring the blonde female who chattered beside him.

Walking over to the fountain Sora smiled at the blonde but proceeded towards Riku.

"Oh my God! You must be the new boy! Hello! I'm Namine! Welcome to Hikari Academy, what's your name?" She said this very fast and enthusiastically.

"Uhm…I'm Sora." He mumbled. He knew her type. Her skirt was really short and he was sure she had spent hours that morning applying enough makeup to make it look like she had none on.

"Nice to meet you Sora! Bye Riku, Nice talking to you!" She exclaimed with a wave, completely oblivious that the silver haired teen was still ignoring her.

Sora watched her run off and join a group of girls before taking her place on the bench beside Riku, "Still drawing I see."

Riku nodded but did not look up from his book. Sora was tempted to look and try and see what exactly it was Riku had been drawing, but he decided against it not wanting Riku to think of him as rude and annoying. Sora leaned against the base of the fountain wallowing in the heavy silence. He swung his legs back and forth looking for a conversation starter that would get Riku talking to him. "Namine seems nice."

"She's not." Riku said pulling his pencil away from the drawing for a moment.

'_Ok…'_ Sora thought to himself. Maybe Namine wasn't the best conversation topic, but it was a start. "I take it you don't like her?"

Riku looked at him, "She gives dumb blonde a whole new meaning."

Sora laughed. Riku smiled a bit and began drawing again.

Taking Riku's smile as encouragement, Sora continued. "I see you draw a lot…do you want to be an artist when you get older?" he asked laughing nervously.

"Nope. I want to be a concert violinist." he said closing the sketchbook and tossing it into his book bag.

"Oh…" Sora said confused.

"I was being sarcastic Sora." Riku said picking up his book bag and offering Sora a hand. The shorter boy took it. He liked the feeling of Riku's hand in his, it felt right and it fit perfectly. They stood still; staring at the hands until the bell rang, shaking them both from their thoughts. Sora blushed and let go of the other boy's hand.

"So Sora what about you? What do you want to be?" Riku asked leading the way to the school.

Sora shrugged stuffing his hands in his pockets. "I don't know, I haven't really thought about it." He mumbled. He was already a sophomore in High school and still had no idea what he wanted to do with the rest of his life.

Riku laughed, "I figured that. You don't seem like the type to stress about stuff like that." His face turned serious and he looked up, towards the ceiling rather than at Sora, "I envy you Sora. I wish I had that ability."

Sora stared at Riku in disbelief. Riku envied _him_? He smiled to himself as they reached the door to the classroom. When they walked in Yuffie shook Aerith's shoulder violently, trying to grab her attention and pointed at the two. Sora pretended not to notice, unable to stop the blood from rushing to his face. Maybe he'd take them up on their offer after all. After all, wasn't it his very mother who'd suggested becoming someone new? Trying new things? He was sure discovering his less than normal sexuality was what she had in mind…but, whatever. '_It's my life, after all.'_

Riku sighed as the late bell echoed through the long empty hall. He contemplated not going to class but figured, since it was the first class of the semester he might as well disturb it by showing up late.

He pushed open the door to the science classroom, relieved to find that class had not yet begun. His eye immediately fell on familiar brown spikes, alone near the middle of the classroom. He stopped mid-smile, regaining his composure not wanting to show his elation at spotting his newest friend, and possible love interest. Not bothering to close the door, Riku made his way over. Quick as to get there before someone else did, but not so fast as to draw attention. "Hey," he said placing his bag on the lab table and sitting on the stool provided. He prayed that it wasn't his imagination that made him see Sora's face brighten up considerably when he saw him.

"Hi!" Sora exclaimed smiling widely, "I'm so glad you're here!"

Riku's heart skipped a beat, it wasn't his imagination. He really was happy to see him! It had not taken Yuffie and Aerith long to realize he had a crush on the new student. They said you'd be blind not to notice, but he knew better, it was like those two had a sixth sense for this sort of thing. But he couldn't help but wonder how Sora felt towards him, or if he was even _that way_.

"For a second I thought I wouldn't know anyone and be stuck here alone!"

Riku frowned. _'He's just worried about being the new kid.' _he thought attempting to ignore his subconscious laughing at him. Riku mumbled a response even he himself didn't understand before pulling out his sketchpad and pencil. He turned to a clean page and began to draw furiously; pressing down so hard he was sure the marks would still show up 3 and 4 pages later.

The teacher, a short balding man with ink stains on his breast pocket walked in, closing the door behind him and beginning to write the days aim on the board. "Settle down, settle down" he said in a voice that made it sound like he had a permanent stuffed nose, "Time to work."

Sora looked at Riku quizzically. He had been furiously drawing for the whole period. His strokes were fast and forced. _'Did I say something that offended him?'_ he thought, the look on his face changing to one of pure horror. The last person in the world that he wanted mad at him was Riku. The bell rang, a simple gong that reverberated through the halls, and the class was dismissed.

Sora paused after putting away his books, even the teacher had left yet their Riku was, drawing as furiously as he started, with no sign of relenting. He could feel his stomach emptying in preparation for the feast that lay waiting for him in the lunchroom, but his legs refused to work. Riku did not move except to lean closer to his drawing.

After several minutes, his strokes seemed to relax and became slow and delicate. Sora watched, enraptured by the young artist. Riku's brow was furrowed and he bit his bottom lip lightly, leaning close to the book. A lock of silver hair fell into his face but he seemed to neither notice nor care. _'It's like he's in another world when he's drawing,'_ Sora thought to himself leaning on the table for support as he stared at his friend.

He figured watching Riku was more fulfilling than anything the lunchroom from heaven served. Sora's stomach however, felt differently. It protested by way of an extremely loud growl that rumbled throughout his whole body.

Riku's pencil stopped. He slowly turned to the source of the noise, aquamarine eyes full of confusion. "You're still here?" he asked.

Sora laughed nervously, "Yea…am I bothering you?" he said pathetically unable to come up with a decent excuse as to why he was staring at the other boy like a love sick puppy. When Riku didn't answer Sora straightened up, "It's ok to say yea, I mean…I'll understand. Just say the word and I'll lea-"

"It's nice having company…when I draw," Riku said cutting Sora off.

"Oh…" he replied surprised. Silence settled over both boys, their eyes meeting before quickly moving away.

"Do…Do you want to see?" Riku asked holding up the sketchpad.

Sora nodded vigorously, causing Riku to laugh at his eagerness. He slid the book over to him, suddenly very nervous.

"…wow…" Was all Sora could say as he ran his hands over the drawing, in awe of the artists talent. It was a picture of what seemed to be an angel with long wavy hair wearing a dress that reached her ankles. He hands were clasped in front of her and her eyes were directed upward making it look as if she were praying. Her hands were covered with wounds, blood dripping freely from them. Her feet were bare and wounded in the same manor and surrounding them were feathers that most likely fell from her back, where the bony frames of what looked as if had once been great wings now hung lamely. Fire seemed to surround her and her lips were curved in what looked like a serene smile but her eyes showed differently. They overflowed with a type of lonely sadness that he had thought never possible to be captured on paper. "Riku…this is…wow…" he said looking at the silver haired teen.

Riku smiled taking the book from Sora and putting it in his bag. "Thanks," he said.

Sora found it a miracle that he had not melted right then and there. Sora's stomach growled again, ruining the moment.

Riku laughed poking the other teen's stomach. "Let's go take care of that," he said, laughing again at the crimson blush that now spread across Sora's face.

Sora attempted to ignore the looks Aerith and Yuffie gave Riku and him when the two walked to the table late and sat down. While Sora was getting his lunch Yuffie elbowed Riku. "Anything _interesting_ happen? Eh? You guys were pre-tty late!" she asked, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively when she said 'interesting'.

Riku rolled his eyes and kicked Yuffie's chair leg so she went flying away from him. "It's not what you think."

Aerith sighed. Both boys had admitted that they liked each other to her and Yuffie, so why couldn't they say anything to each other? She shook her head '_Boys…_'

A large tray piled to the top with various foods was carefully placed on the table and behind it emerged Sora, looking like a little boy at Christmas.

Sora was halfway done with his second Hamburger when the doors to the lunchroom burst open. No one really seemed to notice the figure ask for quiet several times, and just as no one noticed the first boy, no one noticed the second boy climb on a table cupping his hands around his mouth wither.

"LISTEN UP!" he exclaimed loudly.

At once the lunchroom quieted down and turned to face the grinning blonde that balanced on the table, a look of triumph on his face.

"Is that…_Cloud_?" Sora asked putting down his food. The blonde smiled and gestured to several other young men that stood below him.

"And Leon." Yuffie said pointing out the boy who was currently rubbing the bridge of his nose in annoyance. Behind him stood two other young men, neither of which Sora recognized. One with short blonde hair and green eyes and the other with long brown hair and hazel eyes.

"As you all know, September 1st is the beginning of Blitz Ball season." Leon said as he simultaneously grabbed Cloud off of the table. He was answered with several nods and a random "YEA!" from the audience.

"After last years magnificently stunning beautifully formed, extremely deserved victory, Leon and Myself are glad to return as Captains of the Hikari Crusaders!" Cloud said receiving a light smack on the back of the head from Leon. The lunchroom erupted into cheers with people standing up and pounding on tables. Sora clutched his tray closer to him for fear of the vibrations causing it to fall over.

Leon put up his hand, signaling silence. The lunchroom immediately complied. "Last year, six of our players graduated leaving open a total of six positions."

"Tryouts will be held Monday from 3 to 5 in the stadium," Cloud said holding up several flyers that he passed to the other two boys that stood behind him. They moved around the lunchroom from table to table passing out flyers to those who wanted them. The lunchroom was filled with excited murmurs.

The boy with the long hair approached their table first, grabbing a chair from a nearby table and expertly turning it around and sitting on it at the same time. "Yo!" he said with what Sora was sure was supposed to be a 'charming' smile.

"Go away Irvine," Yuffie said stealing one of Sora's fries to toss at him. "No one here is going to try out."

He ignored her, dodging the French fry and leaning closer to Aerith. "You know, I scored two goals at last years championship game." he said smiling widely.

Aerith moved her chair away and raised an eyebrow, "Really Irvine? I was at that game, and from what I recall, you never even got off of the bench." Irvine looked surprised and then angry as he heard Sora snicker. He moved back and glared at him.

"So you're the new boy, Sure do look like something the sea spit up." he said sneering, a sort of southern accent evident in his voice. "You sure you're wearing the right uniform _Miss_?" he asked laughing at his own joke.

Sora's eyes narrowed and Riku's fist balled up.

Aerith put her hand over Sora's, "Don't listen to him," she whispered.

"Leave him alone Irvine," Riku said through clenched teeth.

Irvine looked surprise before he saw Riku, "Aw what happened? Did I offend Mr. Artists Boyfriend?" he asked as if he were talking to a two year old.

"Don't you have anything better to do than mess with people better than you?" Aerith asked glaring at the boy.

"Like go learn to actually play blitz ball," Riku offered.

Irvine smiled widely as he turned to Riku, "I get it, _You're_ jealous because _I'm_ on the team!" he exclaimed.

Riku rolled his eyes. Aerith leaned forward as if she had something really flattering to say, "Oh Irvine everyone knows that the only reason you're on the team is because of your…_questionable_ relationship with the coach." She said twirling her straw in her water bottle.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?" Irvine exclaimed jumping to his feet, fists clenched.

In the blink of an eye strawberry milkshake was running down his forehead and throughout his hair. He turned to Yuffie astonished. She held the now empty Styrofoam cup upside down in her hand and feigned surprise covering her mouth with one hand. "Oops," she said smirking.

With what sounded like a growl Irvine swung at Yuffie but someone stopped his fist. He turned following the arm until he stared straight into the icy blue eyes of Cloud Strife.

"Is there a problem here?" he asked dangerously calm, not at all like the Cloud Sora had met yesterday.

"This little Bitch-"Irvine began.

"Excuse me?" Cloud cut him off. "Is that really how we address a lady?"

Irvine looked as if he wanted to speak but his mouth only opened and closed like a fish out of water.

"Now, from what I recall, confrontation is a benchable offense. So you're benched for the first game."

"What?" Irvine exclaimed his face red with rage.

"You heard me," Cloud said with a smirk, "Now apologize or I bench you for the rest of the season."

"You can't do that!" Irvine exclaimed.

Cloud's smirk widened and he crossed his arms in front of him, "Try me."

The lunchroom was quiet as Irvine glared at Cloud before turning to the table. "Sorry," he mumbled stepping back in an attempt to make a hasty exit. He spun around nearly banging into Leon, who stood in back of him, arms folded blue eyes cold as usual. He stumbled back, moving out from in-between the two captains and all but running out the lunchroom.

Sora turned, shuddering under the glare that the other boy was fixing him with. He was almost as scary as Leon.

"Nyah!" Cloud exclaimed sticking out his tongue at Irvine's back. Cloud laughed unfolding his arms and sitting down. "Oh how I love abusing my authority."

"Thank God it's Friday," Sora mumbled as he took off the burgundy blazer and tossed it over his desk chair, quickly changing out of his uniform for some gray sweat pants and a white t-shirt. He was about to drop on his bed when the cordless phone on his desk rang loudly. He scrambled over to it, picking it up and pressing it to his ear.

"Sora!" Someone exclaimed before he even had a chance to say 'hello'.

"Yuffie?" he inquired surprised. That voice was unmistakable.

"Ding ding ding! Ten points!" she exclaimed obviously more than a little hyper.

"What? I mean…wait, how did u get my number?" he asked sitting on the edge of the bed.

"I swiped it off your schedule card, duh!" she said as if it was as common a knowledge as one plus one. "So, anyway! Aerith and I were planning on heading over to this diner to hang out for a bit, and we're taking you!"

"Um…ok," Sora said knowing better than to argue with the hyperactive teen.

"Yay! We'll be there in ten minutes to pick you up!" she said enthusiastically before hanging up.

Sora sighed and threw the phone on the bed, "So much for rest and relaxation."

Once again Sora found himself in his mothers room, glaring at himself in front of her full-length mirror. He never really put too much effort into how he looked, he didn't really care. But something made tonight different. The only question was what.

'_Is it by any chance the possibility that Riku might be coming along?'_ His subconscious asked laughing at him.

Sora shook his head violently, attempting to banish the voice before smoothing out a wrinkle in his red t-shirt. He'd figured they were going to a regular diner, nothing special. Sora had been to one once or twice when he had visited the mainland with his father and jeans seemed sufficient enough. '_With my father…'_ he thought nostalgically before scolding himself. What father? He had no father.

His eyes shifted to the mess of brown spikes on his head. Wasn't there anything he could do about that? He ran his hands through them several times but they disobediently popped right back into their gravity defying places as soon as he smoothed them out.

"We really need to get you one of these in your own room," Emmy said from the doorway gesturing towards the mirror.

Sora jumped at the voice. He hadn't heard the car pull up or the door even open. "How long have you been there?" he asked suddenly embarrassed.

"Long enough to know you're going out with someone very special tonight." she teased picking up several rejected outfits from her floor.

Sora blushed. Riku could be classified as someone 'very special' even though he'd only known him for a little over two days. His mother wasn't referring to Riku though…she expected him to be stressing over a female. "Mom, it's not like that." He said rubbing the back of his head like he did whenever he was nervous. He quickly pulled his hand away. She had been his mother for sixteen years and knew all his nervous habits. He proved not fast enough for her eyes though as a smile broke out onto her face. Her grin only widened when the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it!" she sang all but floating out the room and down the stairs.

Sora sighed as he heard the muffled voices, just knowing that his mother was frightening whoever it was that had come to the door. His face turned pale. What if it was Riku? What if she broke out the embarrassing photographs or told Riku about the squirrel story?

"Hurry Sora _honey_!" he heard his mother exclaim from the first floor landing. His hands were gripping the door way so tightly now he was sure he'd leave marks. "You should never keep a lady waiting!"

Keep a _lady_ waiting, so it _wasn't_ Riku at the door. He sighed in relief, laughing at his own over reaction as he made his way down the stairs. Sure enough he saw Yuffie, dressed in a pair of khaki capris and a green shirt, talking excitedly with his mother about something. _'Of course Yuffie would get along with her,'_ he thought shaking his head. Sora cleared his throat loudly.

"Hi Sora!" she exclaimed waving enthusiastically. Sora waved back and offered her a smile. "Aerith's waiting in the car so you don't have to worry, I'm not driving this time!"

Sora caught his mom opening her mouth as if to say something. Panicking he grabbed Yuffie's arm, practically carrying her out the door. "Sorry mom we're running late, gotta go!"

Emmy laughed as the door slammed behind him. "Young love," she sighed happily heading upstairs.

"Hi Sora!" Aerith exclaimed from the drivers seat as Sora entered the back of the car. Yuffie entered the passenger seat slamming the door as she sat down.

"What the hell was that about?" she asked angrily.

"Hi Aerith," Sora mumbled. Satisfied the pink clad girl began to drive, no stomping on the gas petal, just safe, law abiding 'We're not going to die tonight' driving. "My mom! She thinks I like somebody!" Sora exclaimed turning to his raven-haired friend.

"But you _do _like someone!"

"She's going to think it's you!"

The car was silent for a moment. Yuffie turned to him seriously, realization dawning on her. "Wait. Are you trying to tell me…your mom…she doesn't know that your _this _way?"

Sora shook his head, "Are you _kidding_! **Of course not! **I'm still not totally sure myself!"

Yuffie slapped her forehead. "Sora…" she said shaking her head.

"It's not like I'm not planning on telling her _ever_! I just want to be completely sure myself when I do."

Yuffie shook her head grimly. '_Boys…'_ she thought before leaning her head on the window.

Aerith pulled into the parking lot, choosing a shaded space (even though it was night) and turning off everything before pulling the keys out of the ignition.

"FINALLY!" Yuffie exclaimed jumping up as much as she could seeing as how she was sitting in a car. "I thought we'd never get there as slow as you were driving!"

Aerith rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Let's just try and get a table, I'm hungry."

The Diner was packed, waitresses in short black skirts and white t-shirts ran around taking peoples orders and delivering their trays.

"Hello! Welcome to 7th Heaven!" A happy voice said and Sora looked up to see a girl standing over a podium like fixture next to the front door. She had blood red eyes and her long black hair was held back in a ponytail. Sora read her nametag, "Tifa".

"Hey Tiff," Yuffie said smiling widely, "Think you can get us a table?" she asked

"Sure thing, is he the new guy I've been seeing at school?" Tifa asked lifting Sora's chin so he was looking at her face and not her…

"Oh no, I was reading your nametag…I mean…uhm…Hi I'm Sora," he said holding out his hand a blush spreading across his cheeks.

"Hey there Sora, I'm Tifa and don't worry, happens all the time," she said with a smile. Aerith giggled and patted Sora's head. Tifa grabbed several menus and led them to a booth near the back. Several people waved to Aerith and Yuffie, and nodded or shouted so that Sora guessed this was a popular Hikari Academy hangout.

"I'll be back in a couple of minutes to take your orders," she said before someone called her name from the back and she hurried away.

Aerith and Yuffie stared at Sora, "I wasn't looking at her chest, honest! I was trying to read her name tag!"

Yuffie laughed, "Yea sure."

Sora pouted and opened his menu, giving up on trying to convince them otherwise. He thought of asking where Riku was but didn't want the girls to make a big scene and scream I told you so's.

"Oh, Riku couldn't make it tonight so, it's gonna be just us," Yuffie said closing her menu.

Sora frowned. "Oh…" he mumbled quietly. Aerith and Yuffie exchanged another one of their looks. "Don't do that!" Sora exclaimed annoyed.

"Do…what?" Aerith asked.

"That…look thing!" he exclaimed flailing his arms in the air. They looked at each other again. "You see! You just did it again!"

"We aren't allowed to _look_ at each other?" Yuffie asked with a raised eyebrow.

Aerith laughed looking at her menu.

"HEY!" Someone cried loudly from across the diner. In a second Cloud was at their table grinning stupidly as he pulled up two chairs, forcing Leon to sit down as well.

"Hiya!" Yuffie exclaimed waving enthusiastically.

"What's up Sora, how's Traverse treating ya?" Cloud asked.

Sora shrugged, "Pretty good, I guess."

"Ready to order yet?" Tifa asked making herself comfortable in Cloud's lap. Sora noticed Leon stiffen up and glare at her and he wondered if it had anything to do with her close contact with the blonde. Than again, Leon looked at _everyone_ like that.

Cloud seemed unfazed by the attractive woman in his lap. "I want the usual," he said nonchalantly. Looking to Yuffie and Aerith.

When everyone was finished ordering Tifa turned to Leon, "Want anything Squall?"

"It's Leon, and no," he said rudely.

Cloud frowned turning to look at him, "Aw But Leon, you have to eat _something_."

"I'm not hungry," Leon mumbled not looking at the blonde.

"But Leeeooooooon," Cloud whined "You can't come to '7th Heaven' and _not eat_!"

"Yea Le_on_!" Tifa said enthusiastically copying Clouds pout.

Leon scowled at her. "Watch me," he said coldly.

Tifa frowned, "Be that way then." She said. She made no move as to get off of Clouds lap and instead made herself more comfortable.

"Er…Tifa…there are chairs," Cloud said blushing lightly.

Tifa smiled and leaned back into him. "No, I think I like it here better," she said giggling.

Sora watched Aerith and Yuffie do the "eye thing" again. Yuffie rolled her eyes.

"Don't you have food to make or something?" Leon snapped, glaring fiercely at the woman.

"I would if you'd order something," she snapped back equally fierce, glaring at him through slanted eyes.

"Fine then, if I order will you go away?"

"Possibly," she mumbled shrugging her shoulders.

Leon gave her one last glare before picking up a menu and picking the first thing on it. He pointed to the diet coke and tossed the menu at Tifa. "There I ordered. Now go away."

Tifa scowled at him picking up the menus and storming off. Sora was confused. Tifa and Leon didn't seem to get along too well. _'Is it just because she sat was all over Cloud?_' he thought. _'If that's the case, Leon's gay?_ One look at the stone faced senior shook all thoughts of that from his mind.

The silence at the table was deafening. With Yuffie and Cloud sitting there one would never expect to get in a minute to think.

"Uh oh," Aerith mumbled looking toward one of the booths in the front. Irvine was making his way over to them with the green-eyed boy from before in front and several others in tail. Sora rolled his eyes.

"Some people just don't know when to give up" Yuffie said sipping her water.

"Yo," the blonde one said stopping just in front of the table.

"What do you want Seifer?" Aerith asked annoyed, not in the mood for any drama tonight.

"I just want to speak to Sora, it's a free country isn't it?" he asked. Yuffie stuck her tongue out at him.

He laughed grabbing a chair and sitting down. "So what are we doing tonight? Eating, hanging out, watching movies?" he asked looking at Sora.

"Cut to the chase Seifer, and go away." Leon said already exhausted.

"Alrighty then. I heard you think you hot shit." Seifer said, although his voice held no hostility his eyes were ablaze with malice.

'_What did I ever do to you?' _Sora thought confused as to how someone he'd never met could hate him so much. "You shouldn't listen to everything you hear." Sora mumbled indifferently, determined to keep his cool.

Seifer laughed, "Ha, you're really funny," he said. "Since you're so hard, I have a little challenge for you."

"Seifer," Cloud said in a warning tone.

Seifer looked at the captain, "What? I'm not doing anything to him! Just talking, he doesn't need to accept if he doesn't wanna. I wouldn't expect anything else from a chicken-wuss like him," he said with a shrug.

"What is it?" Sora asked annoyed. He was sick of having people stand up for him.

Seifer turned back to him with a smile. "Blitzball tryouts are on Monday. Since you obviously think it's so easy to get on the team, and that you're higher than all of us, why don't you try out? See if you can make the team."

Sora scratched his head. That was it? That wasn't too bad of a challenge.

"Seifer stop," Cloud said angrily.

"Cloud," it was Leon's turn to sound like he was giving a warning.

"No!" Cloud exclaimed angrily. "I'm sick of them always doing this. They pick on the new kid that's small, and weak,"

Sora's head snapped toward Cloud.

"Ah…Cloud…"Aerith mumbled

"And feminine and fragile," he continued.

Sora's eye twitched in annoyance.

"Uh…Cloud…" Yuffie said while watching Sora, who seemed to be getting redder and redder to the point that it seemed smoke would come out of his ears any moment.

"And pathetic and kind of dumb and-" Cloud's words were muffled as Aerith and Yuffie both covered his mouth with their hands and Leon smacked the back of his head while mumbling something that sounded like 'idiot'.

"Fine then," Sora said glaring at Irvine and Seifer. "I accept your challenge, but on one condition."

Seifer laughed standing up. "Sure, what is it?"

"Loser wears the girls uniform for a week," Sora replied his eyes never leaving Seifer's.

A grin showed up on Seifer's face, so wide it reached his ears. "Alright than, it's a bet."

**_A/N: Went back and fixed this…combined chapters 2&3 to make The Super Chapter. All bow before The Super Chapters length and power. _**

**_Keep those reviews coming._**


	3. One Step Closer

_Beautiful Disaster_

_By: ScarletDreams _

Disclaimer: All characters, most places things etc. belong to Square-Enix and Disney…or whatever, I don't own anything…so…don't sue me ok?

**Chapter Three**

_One Step Closer_

It was Saturday. Sweet, wonderful, glorious Saturday. No school, no mothers, no death defying car rides with an over zealous ninja impersonator and her screaming friend. Just rest, relaxation, and quiet. Sora valued his Saturdays and he would kill before he let anyone take it away from him…or so he thought.

The phone on his desk rang simultaneously with the one in the kitchen. The rings slowly grated through the wall of sleep Sora had enclosed himself in. His eyes popped open, murder written all over them. He lunged at the cordless, picking it up in an attempt to stop that _god awful_ ringing.

"Do you _know _how _annoying _it is to wake up to a ringing phone?" he screamed into the receiver before even finding out who it was. He could hear a sort of soft laughter on the other line.

"Is that how you greet everyone who calls you, or am I just special?"

Sora's eyes widened in realization, there was only one person in the world with a voice like that. "R-Riku?" Sora managed to squeak after a moment of silence.

More laughter, "Yup."

Sora dropped to the floor, leaning against the legs of his desk. His face was beat red from embarrassment and anger as he repeatedly banged his head into the wooden side.

"Sorry for calling so…early?" Riku said hesitantly.

Sora glanced at the clock, it was already noon. "Oh…uh…it's not that early," he said quietly.

Silence. Sora hated silence.

"Listen, I just called to ask you about a rumor I've been hearing." He said deciding to cut to the chase.

Sora cocked his head to the side quizzically.

"There are rumors going around that you challenged Seifer to a bet. Something having to do with Blitzball and…the girls uniform?"

Sora banged his head against the desk. '_So it wasn't a dream._' He gulped nervously, "H-How do you know?" he asked pathetically.

Riku sighed, "It was in an email…it looks as if it's been forwarded to half the school. People are making bets on the outcome."

Sora banged his head harder, "Wonderful." He muttered sarcastically.

"It's true then." Riku stated

Sora whimpered as he nodded, oblivious to the fact that Riku couldn't actually see him nod. _'Why am I so stupid?'_ Sora thought continuing to bang his head. He was at the point where his vision was blurring. "Riku…" he said nervously. How could he explain that he had never played Blitzball in his life? Sure back on the island Tidus and Wakka played with some other boys every once in a while, and he saw glimpses of the games on TV, but not _once _did Sora _ever_ step into a sphere pool.

"You've never played Blitzball have you?" Riku asked.

Sora didn't answer, just hit his head against the wood one last time deciding to stop before he passed out, or gave himself a concussion.

"I figured." Riku said, acknowledging the banging wood as Sora's desired form of speech.

Sora nearly fell over in shock. "You…you figured?" he asked.

"Yea," Riku laughed softly. Sora liked the sound. "No offense, but you don't exactly seem like the type to go tackling guys out of a sphere pool."

Sora laughed, _'Am I that obvious?'_ he thought sweat dropping.

"I've been talking with Leon and Cloud, and we've come up with a plan."

"A plan?" Sora asked confused.

"Cloud and Leon should be there in about an hour to pick you up and start your training."

"Training? What?" Sora asked lifting his head that had been resting on the desk.

Riku laughed again, "Later Sora," he said before hanging up.

Sora stayed on the phone long after the dial tone had come back on. He wanted to melt. Riku had _called his house_. He also wanted to scream. How did Riku get his number? What training was he talking about? He _also_ wanted to cry. Sharing a car for kami knows how long with a human ice cube and a jackhammer. For what? To be taken to Riku's house to play some stupid game in water? '_Riku's house…water. Riku…water…' _Sora blushed at the thought "ugh, NO!" he exclaimed banging his head on the desk hard enough to banish any and all impure thoughts.

Sora was already sitting on the porch when the car pulled up neatly and carefully parking in his driveway, not breaking any laws or performing any death defying stunts, which assured him Cloud was not driving. Sora had dressed in a simple pair of jean shorts and a light blue t-shirt, his duffel bag lay next to him with a change of clothes and swimsuit. It wasn't exactly summer weather, but it wasn't quite winter yet either. There was a slight breeze that Sora had not quite gotten used to yet, but liked. '_You never got breezes like this on Destiny Islands,_' he thought as he stood up, slinging the bag over his shoulder.

"Yo Sora!"

Sure enough Cloud was leaning half way out of the front passenger window waving idiotically. He could see and hear Cloud bang his head as someone, most likely Leon, grabbed the back of his shirt and pulled him in.

'_No wonder Cloud's the way he is,'_ Sora thought _'Too many blows to the head.'_

He opened the door and tossed in his duffel bag before climbing in himself. He looked forward to having the back seat of the car all to himself allowing for a very comfortable, smooth ride thanks to the responsible brunette at the wheel. "Hey," he said receiving a curt nod from Leon and something that sounded like a cross between a greeting and a whimper.

"Why the head? Why _always_ the head?" Cloud asked himself leaning on the now closed window.

Sora laughed before throwing himself across the seat, spreading his body out fully along the triple seat. At least, that was his intention. His head landed in something soft and comfortable. Sora looked down to see the edges of black shorts. Biting his lip he looked up into deep cerulean pools. _'Shit…'_

"Hello Sora," Riku said quietly.

Sora screamed at the top of his lungs, jumping off the silver haired boys lap and throwing himself against the closed door. Leon, who had been driving at the time, slammed on the brakes, causing the car to jolt to a stop. The 'intelligent' blonde in the front who had chose not to where a seat belt jerked forward, banging his already aching head on the dashboard.

How had Sora not noticed someone in the back seat with him? How had Sora not noticed _Riku_ in the back seat with him?

"Sorry," Sora muttered sheepishly. He caught Leon's glare in the mirror and smiled nervously. With a sigh and a glance in the direction of the cursing blonde to make sure he was alright he began driving again.

Sora stared out the window, catching Riku's eyes on him through the reflection. Their eyes locked, neither wanted to look away, yet neither wanted to stay that way either. They stayed like that until the sun crept out from behind the clouds, sending a bright beam of light straight towards the window. Sora looked away, rubbing his eyes. "So…where exactly are we going? And why?" he asked just for the sake of conversation.

"You'll see," Leon said turning into a large community. They drove up to a large black gate with two security stations on either side. A sign above the gates read "Traverse Manors". The gates opened, permitting them entrance.

Sora's eyes widened even larger than they had when he had first came to Traverse Town. As they drove up the blocks they passed gargantuan manors, not a single one smaller than three stories and about as wide as three houses on Destiny Islands. Each house had their own set of gates and a block in front that read off names such as "Heartily Estate" and "Braska Gardens". The houses were at least a half a mile apart. Eventually they pulled up to a set of gates that read "Strife Estate". The house was just as large as any of the other houses, complete with a garden the size of a public park and a fountain in the middle of it.

"Wow," Sora said as the car pulled to a stop along side a silver BMW.

"Careful, we have to be sneaky." Riku mumbled opening up his door.

Sora gave him a questioning look as he pulled his bag closer to him and prepared to get out.

"About two thirds of the student body live here, if they saw us helping you it might be classified as cheating." Leon said stepping out of the car.

"Damn." Sora said following Leon. _'How is mom paying for me to go to that school?'_ he thought running a hand through his hair.

"Make yourselves comfortable," Cloud said closing the door behind them. The inside of the house was as elegant as the outside, complete with widening staircases and crystal chandeliers.

They walked into a living room about as large as a movie theatre. Obviously familiar with the place Riku threw himself on one of the black couches, sitting Indian style on the large love seat. Leon sat on a larger sofa and Sora sat on the one closest to the door.

"Now Sora, you foolishly made a bet this past Friday," Cloud said sounding much like a prosecutor in a court. He jumped on the arm of the couch Sora was sitting on and jabbing him in the chest. "Seifer may be a prick, but he's an evil, malicious, selfish, sly prick with brainless cronies that obey his every command."

Leon and Riku exchanged glances, rolling their eyes at their friends over dramatic recap. Cloud sat on the arm of the couch, "So we, the best Blitzball players this side of the world has ever seen-"

"You play Blitzball?" Sora asked Riku, completely ignoring Cloud who continued to babble on in the background.

"Used to," Riku mumbled averting his gaze. In the short time Sora had known Riku he had already picked up his 'don't pry subject' signals, and eye averting was one of them.

"We will conquer this bet and dominate-oof"

Cloud was cut off as Leon threw a pillow at him knocking him off of the side of the couch. "Shut up Strife," he said.

The blonde stuck out his tongue at him before climbing onto the sofa next to Leon. Riku picked up a white remote control and pressed a button. Immediately the wooden wardrobe like casing in the center of the rooms two doors opened up and a flat screened TV, moved out before it's screen expanded. He pushed another button and a video began to play. "This footage was taken from last seasons Blitzball games." Riku said as it started.

Basically it was various bits of random footage of Seifer, Irvine and some other grunts. Irvine and some cronies tackling a guy here, Seifer bum rushing someone out of the sphere pool there, Seifer and Irvine fouling an opponent, the works. "Ouch," Sora mumbled as even the referee went flying into the stands at one point.

"Yea, so they'll probably try and do that to you on Monday," Cloud said as Riku stopped the video. Sora winced.

"Nice Cloud…nice," Riku mumbled throwing the remote at Cloud.

Leon caught it midway. "Stop fooling around, let's get serious." He turned towards Sora, holding up a blue and white ball. "Lets start with the basics, do you know what this is?"

"That's a Blitzball." Sora said. Wakka constantly carried one under his arm on Destiny Islands.

Leon nodded, "The object of the game is to get this into your opponents net. Each time that happens you get two points. To win a game you need more points than your opponent." He tossed the ball to Sora but it was intercepted by Cloud who twirled it on his pointer finger.

"The games pretty simple. The only catch is…it's underwater. There are ten players on a team, but only six in the sphere at once." He said pausing to make sure Sora was following. He tossed the ball to Riku who caught it expertly.

"In order to stop you from getting the ball, giving it to someone-else, and/or scoring it is completely legal for the other to team to tackle, jump, surround you…or to put it bluntly, beat the crap out of you." Riku pitched it to Sora who attempted to catch it. It bounced off of his fingers and onto the floor silently. Sora gulped.

Leon rubbed the bridge of his nose and Cloud and Riku exchanged a look that reminded him of Aerith and Yuffie. Cloud picked up the ball, smiling warmly at Sora.

"Why don't we try it in the water?"

Under water Sora practiced catches and tosses with Riku, thanking God that his blush was not visible under water. Sora couldn't help but notice how nicely Riku was built. He was thin, but not skinny and muscled but not overly so and when he was hunched over every single abb muscle was visible. Long after Sora had mastered catching and tossing under water they came to the surface.

Riku smiled brightly at Sora causing his knees to buckle. "You're doing well," he said before swimming to the edge of the pool and pulling himself out. Sora attempted to follow but was stopped by the form of Cloud. He was a bit more muscled than Riku, especially his arms, obviously from many years of Blitzball.

"Because of this bet, I'm sure some of the other team members are going to pick on you, you have to be ready for the _worst_."

With that he dove into the large pool, Sora following. Cloud gave him a "Ready?" signal. Sora nodded and Cloud pulled his arm back before rushing forward releasing the ball. Sora's eyes widened as the force of the ball caused the water to separate, as if moving out of its way. With an inaudible squeal he quickly dove to the side. The ball hit the wall of the pool so hard it bounced all the way back to Cloud, who caught it expertly in one hand. Sora looked at Cloud confused. Wasn't Cloud supposed to _help_ him? The blonde merely shook his head, narrowing his eyes and pulling back to serve again. Again and Again Sora dove and again and again Cloud pitched with a strength that seemed to part the very waters.

After Cloud caught the ball for the seventh or eighth time he pointed up, signaling Sora to resurface. By the time Sora's head emerged from the water Cloud was leaning against the far wall of the pool.

"What's the big idea?" Sora exclaimed angrily.

Cloud merely rolled his eyes. "Blitzball players don't run from balls Sora," he said, eyes fixed expectantly on him.

"Well I'm not a Blitzball player am I!" Sora snapped sounding like a whining child.

"You better become one before Monday then!" Cloud exclaimed more serious than Sora had ever seen him before. As soon as the seriousness had come it was gone, replaced by the familiar smirk. "Unless of course you want to switch uniforms with Yuffie for a week?" he dove back under water.

With a growl Sora followed. This time, when the ball came towards him he attempted to catch it. It bounced off his fingers painfully. He cried out in pain though the effect was lost in the water. Sora kicked the ball towards Cloud who lifted it up with his foot and hit it with the side of his fist sending it back to the boy. This one collided with Sora's stomach sending him spiraling through the water.

Cloud shook his head. '_This is gonna be a loooooong day_'

Sora lay on the edge of the pool staring up into the sky. The sun was beginning to set, the blue sky now a darkening purple. The same color as Sora's newly acquired bruises. He had spent several hours practicing catching with Cloud and his serves that felt like something out of a cannon. Then he spent the rest of the time practicing tackles and blocking with the ice cube of Traverse Town, who he felt's name should be changed to the wall of Traverse Town. _Then_ they double-teamed Sora.

But with the bruises came a sense of accomplishment when at the end of the night he could actually catch Clouds serves only moving back a few inches and dodge Leon's tackles, easily slipping through their double teams.

He heard someone sit down next to him and looked over to see Riku sitting there with a tray that had two glasses of lemonade. Riku smiled at him, handing him the glass. Sora sat up gulping down the cold liquid. This day was definantly worth it. "I think you're in pretty good shape for Monday," he said picking up his own glass.

Sora nodded as he gulped down all the liquid. "Leon and Cloud are pretty good." He remarked rubbing his abdomen. "Hell…they're _really _good. I'm still feeling the pounding they gave me."

Riku nodded. "You're good for a beginner too. It took most of the guys on the team half a season to be able to catch one of Clouds serves, let alone hold their ground for it."

Sora smiled widely. "Thanks. You're pretty good too."

Riku shrugged putting down his glass and immediately looking very uncomfortable.

"Sorry! I didn't mean to offend you." Sora mumbled quickly getting up and leaning forward towards Riku. Everything was going fine, and he could already feel Riku getting distant.

Riku looked down, blushing ever so slightly at their closeness. "It's alright," he said with a smile. Sighing with relief Sora leaned back, blushing.

"Sora!" Cloud said immediately landing in front of the two boys. "You're all set for Monday!" He exclaimed happily. Sora looked toward Leon, who was leaning in the doorframe leading into the house. He nodded at the boy offering him an encouraging smirk. The friendliest gesture the brunette had ever offered in his direction.

Sora smiled for what seemed like the millionth time that day. He could no longer feel the ache in his body and for the first time since he made that stupid bet Sora felt reassured. Like somehow everything would work out for the best, which hopefully wouldn't involve him in a skirt.

_**A/N: THIS chapter had to be the hardest to fix yet. But alas, it is done. **_

_**This author lives on reviews, and if the other dies, the story isn't finished. Keep the story going, keep the author alive.**_


	4. The Invitation

_Beautiful Disaster_

_By: ScarletDreams _

Disclaimer: All characters, most places things etc. belong to Square-Enix and Disney…or whatever, I don't own anything…so…don't sue me ok?

**_A/N: _**

**_Me: uh…Hi, Remember how I told you there'd be Riku/Sora action in this chapter? Well…um…how do I say this…  
Cloud dances by waving banner while singing She lied! She lied! She is a liar! Liar la la la she lies!  
Me:eye twitches:….yes…to put it bluntly…I did set the stage for Riku/Sora action though…and there's a lil bit of implied Cloud/Leon here…  
Cloud:sings: You still lied! You lied, she lied! Liar!  
Me: SHUT UP!  
:Leon smacks Cloud in the back of the head: Idiot.  
Me:…ok…I'll start the chapter now…_**

**Chapter Five**

_The Invitation_

Cloud hummed along to the music that blared from his speakers as he drove at least ten miles above the speed limit, top down to allow the breeze to cool him on this hot morning. It was still fairly early, and as the speeding jaguar drove along the street several people leaned out their windows, shouting obscenities and shaking their fists.

"Somebody woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning," Cloud mumbled as he ducked, an empty soda can tossed from a window barely missing his head. He pulled up to a small white house and parked on the curb. He got out of his car and pushed open the thin, easily passable, obviously purpose-less metal gate and walked up the driveway ringing the doorbell. He folded his hands behind his back, rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet before his impatience caught up with him and he began repeatedly pressing the doorbell roughly.

The door opened to reveal an annoyed looking and shirtless Leon. Cloud let his eyes rake over the other mans chest, appreciating his physique. The brunette had obviously just gotten out of his bed hair messy and clad only in a pair of loose black sweats. His tangled brown locks fell into his face as he glared at the blonde in front of him.

"Leon!" Cloud exclaimed moving to jump on the other boy, but Leon was fast and Cloud found himself banging into the screen door and stumbling backwards.

It took Leon a moment to register what exactly was going on. It was 6 am and Cloud was standing on his doorstep, grinning idiotically. It was 6 am on a _Sunday _and Cloud was standing on his doorstep, grinning idiotically. Cloud was standing on his doorstep _grinning idiotically_. "What the hell do you want?" he asked angrily.

Cloud smiled again, regaining his composure. "Let's go to the Zoo! My treat!" he exclaimed happily.

Leon's eyebrow twitched, "The. Zoo."

Cloud nodded holding up two tickets black with white letters that red "Traverse Park Zoo!" with a picture of a moogle in the middle.

Leon blinked at the blonde before him before slamming the door shut.

Cloud didn't let this faze him though, he'd knew this would happen and had planned around it. The Zoo actually didn't open until 10 am, but he decided to come early so that Leon could say no and Cloud could bother and annoy him until he said 'yes' with lots of time to spare. He walked over to his car and sat Indian style on the hood, eyes fixed on the house.

>>>

Sora sighed as he pulled two pieces of toast from the toaster, placing them on a plate and heading upstairs. While he loved his precious Saturdays, Sundays were a different story entirely. They made him feel lazy and lethargic, and the nervousness about tomorrow's Blitzball tryouts had caused a knot to form in his stomach that twisted every now and then making him feel as if he would throw up.

He sat at his desk, opening his laptop and brushing the dust off the neglected machine. Signing on to his screen name he was greeted with a very loud "You've Got Mail!" He clicked on the envelope simultaneously lowering the volume on the machine.

He scrolled through his messages, most of them Spam, before stopping at the first real message from someone named "XxGr8eStNiNjAEvAxX" Must be Yuffie, Sora thought clicking on the link. A message popped on the screen:

From: XxGr8eStNiNjAEvAxX

Subject: PAR-TAY!

To: XxSorAxX

Message Contains:

Sora!

Hiya! It's me, Yuffie, just wanted to let you know…PARTY TONIGHT! MY HOUSE! 7(pm)-2…be there!

Yuffie

P.S. BRING SOMEONE SPECIAL! wink wink

"A party? On Sunday?" he thought to himself, running a hand through his messy brown spikes. This was the perfect opportunity to meet new people…and he was sure by 'someone special' she meant Riku. He bit his lip nervously 'Gotta make a move some time Sora. Can't just expect them to come plowing into you all the time, all by themselves'

Palms sweating, Sora picked up the cordless on his desk, the moisture causing the phone to clatter to the floor. Scrambling to pick it up he scrolled through the caller I.D. To his relief, Riku's name and number were still there. Taking a deep breath he dialed. The phone rang twice and Sora was so intent on listening for the third ring that the deep voice on the other end startled him.

"Hello?"

"Riku?…uh…HI! uhm…it's…its Sora," the boy replied nervously to the deep yet lucid voice.

"I know," Riku said, glad that his grin was not visible through the phone. How could he not recognize Sora's voice? Just hearing the young boy stammering his greeting brought an ear-to-ear grin on Riku's face.

"Uhm…yea…uh…Yuffie, she's having this party thing tonight…and…I kind of…you know she said invite someone so I figured, well…uh, Do you wanna come?"

Riku's grin widened (if that was even possible) but he was determined to keep his cool. "Sure, there's nothing much else to do anyways,"

Sora mouthed "yes!" while jumping up to perform his victory dance. "Really! Cool! Ok, so I'll meet you at that diner place since it's the only place in town I know how to get to, unless of course that's not cool for you, because if you want to meet somewhere else that's ok, just tell me how to get there but I might be late because I get lost easily you see I really have no sense of direc-"

"Sora," Riku interrupted the boys babbling, "You're beginning to sound like Cloud,"

The brunette immediately shut up, shuddering at the thought. "So the Seventh Heaven at 7?" he finally replied.

Riku laughed, "It's a date,"

>>>

Leon stepped into his room, drying his hair with a towel. He was wearing a pair of black pants and a tight white shirt that clung to his muscles. He looked out the window, noticing a certain blonde sprawled out on the roof of a car, in the blistering sun, waiting for him. It seemed, since the day they met, Cloud was always waiting for Leon. The only consistent in the boy's life was the fact that he could, no matter how horribly he treated him, always count on the somewhat crazy blonde being there. Never with too many comforting words or gestures, the two needed no words to communicate (though Cloud often chose to supply them anyway). Whenever he was upset, all Cloud had to do was smile and he'd forget whatever had made him upset. Than the blonde would open his mouth, and the nonsense he disguised as words would pour out, returning Leon to his normal annoyed, quiet self. The smile and the nonsense usually occurred simultaneously, protecting Leon from making a fool of himself by saying things he'd regret, from admitting to feelings he wasn't supposed to have, that he'd convinced himself he didn't have. He laughed, 'Yet another favor Cloud's done for me,' he thought tossing the wet towel into his hamper. Unlike the other people in Leon's life, Cloud had never asked for anything in return, except for a simple trip to the zoo every now and then. 'You can't even give him that,' Leon's conscience remarked. Leon shook the thought of remorse from his mind. He was not going to the zoo.

>>>

Cloud swore that after two hours of waiting in the bright sun, that Leon was about ready to crack. He smiled as Leon's old and incredibly nosy neighbor Rosa exited her house to pick up her morning paper. Everyone knew that grin. It meant he'd come up with something. Usually something devious. Putting his acting skills to work, Cloud slid off the car and made his way over to her with a bounce that people got in their step only when they were extremely angry. "Excuse me, but is this Mr. Leonharts house?" he asked pointing to Leon's house.

For a moment she just stood there, after all, it's not every morning an incredibly handsome boy cones up to you while your still in your robe and curlers. "Yes…" she said picking up the paper. She caught sight of Cloud's three ear piercings and raised an eyebrow. Cloud offered a bow before walking straight to Leon's door. Only after making sure that the woman was watching did he put his plan into full throttle.

He began to furiously bang and kick the door wildly, "LEON LEONHART! YOU ASSHOLE! YOU MEANIE!" he screamed at the top of his lungs. The woman's eyes had widened and several people had come to their windows to see what was causing the commotion. "HE'S IN THERE ISN'T HE! OR IS IT A SHE THIS TIME!"

Cloud decided to change into hurt mode now and dropped to his knees, pathetically scratching at the door while lowering his voice and making it sound as if he'd cry. "I thought you loved me. You said I was special," he sobbed.

As more people gathered the door flung open revealing a very pist off looking Leon. "Get up," he said angrily. Immediately Cloud jumped to his feet an evil grin on his face that read 'I-am-winnnnniiinnnnnng'

"Leon, how could you do this to m-" he began

"I'll go to the fucking zoo with you just do me a favor and shut the hell up," Leon replied through clenched, using all his self control to contain his unbearable urge to murder the blonde in front of him.

"YAY!" Cloud exclaimed moving to pounce on the brunette but Leon had already began walking to the car. Bowing and flashing a peace sign to the audience that had accumulated Cloud ran to catch up with the boy.

By the time Cloud had reached the drivers seat Leon was already in the passenger seat, seat belt secured (he'd ridden with the blonde before and knew how he drove). "Whoo hoo! Monkeys!" Cloud exclaimed happily as he began to drive.

Leon watched the blonde out the corner of his eye. He got so happy just because Leon agreed to go to the zoo. Leon smiled, something that only seemed to happen when he was alone with Cloud, "You really are an idiot, Blondie." He said quietly.

Hearing this Cloud looked at the Brunette with a look of annoyance on his face. But the sight of Leon, leaning on the window glass, watching him out the corner of his eye, with that rare and captivating smile on his face was enough to shut the boy up. For once he didn't fumble with the radio or try and clean out his glove compartment while he drove. He actually focused on the road.

And for once, they were both content.

> 

_**A/N: A very very very very very pitiful and pathetic chapter…but…erm…I wanted to just get something up before I go to bed. But I promise I'll have another chapter up by Saturday night. Next chapter is the party…muah ha ha…boy do I have plans for this. Oh yea…and…party's on a Sunday may seem uncommon to some people….but they do exist…and well, Yuffie's having one lol. Please review! Thanks and please continue reading.**_


	5. Where's the Party?

_Beautiful Disaster_

_By: ScarletDreams _

_Disclaimer: All characters, most places things etc. belong to Square-Enix and Disney…or whatever, I don't own anything…so…don't sue me ok? _

**Chapter Six**

_Where's the Party?_

"What's this?" Emmy said as she entered Sora's room that evening only to discover the boy seemingly burying himself in a mountain of clothes. "Another date with Ms.Admire-from-afar?"

It took Sora a moment to completely register what his mother was talking about. She still thought that he liked Yuffie. To avoid any messy situations or explaining something he himself wasn't completely sure of, he decided to play along. "Uhm…yea. I don't know what to wear,"

Emmy smiled widely before sitting on his bed, "Just tell me where you're going and I'll have the perfect outfit for you,"

Sora looked at his mom skeptically. Contemplating whether or not he really should trust her. "Uhm…she's having a party…at her house,"

"A party? On _Sunday_?" she asked. Sora nodded it just hitting him that she did have the power to say 'no'. "That's odd, must be a city thing," she mumbled as she rummaged through his clothes. She pulled out something in all of five minutes and thrust it at him, pushing him out the bedroom door and toward the bathroom. "Here, try this on," she said pushing him into the bathroom and closing the door before he could object.

Sora emerged from the bathroom ten minutes later clad in a pair of black jean shorts and a red fitting t-shirt. It was a simple alphit, and Sora cursed that he had spent so much time searching and his mother had found one in all of twenty seconds. Emmy sat cross legged on the bed looking pleased as Sora walked in.

"So when am I going to meet this "crush"?" she said with a smile.

Sora put on his shoes, fumbling with the shoelaces nervously. He mumbled his response, quickly finishing putting on his shoes so he could leave.

"I have the greatest Idea!" she said clapping her hands together in excitement. Sora looked up at her, dreading another one of her infamous 'ideas'. "Why don't you invite this girl over for dinner Friday night!"

Sora's eyes widened. "um…uh…eh heh.._this _Friday?" he asked trying to sound indifferent.

"Yes! This'll be great! Whoo hoo! I can't wait!" she exclaimed before running out of the room.

Sora fell back onto his bed, taking in deep breaths as he did so. His mom wanted his crush over for dinner on Friday, and he didn't want to disappoint her. But how could he not disappoint her, when she also expected a girl?

>>>

Sora glanced at his watch, green digital numbers blinked '6:45' at mockingly at him. After that little discussion with his mother he'd thought it best to leave before she questioned him some more. He was a little early and contemplated going inside to wait. His eyes fell on a figure leaning on a lamppost. "Sora?" The dark figure questioned.

"Y-yes?" Sora gulped stepping back a little.

The figure stepped out of the shadows, smiling warmly at Sora. "I guess we're both a little early,"

Riku stood before him, clad in a pair of loose black jeans and a white tight fitting tank top underneath an open black button down shirt.

Sora laughed nervously. "Yup," he ran a hand through his hair. If he had anymore doubts one look at Riku banished them. _'Yup, Sora, you're gay buddy.' _

"Is there anything wrong?" Riku asked after a couple of minutes past by. Sora looked at him confused which only caused Riku's smirk to widen.

"Oh no. It's just that, I was…you look…I've never seen you in anything other than the school uniform." He said congratulating himself on his ungraceful but still convincible save.

Riku looked at Sora with knowing eyes, pleased he had this kind of effect on the boy. "How about we go now?" he questioned.

Eager to be on their way Sora nodded and began to lead the way to Yuffie's house, stopping as he realized, he didn't know the way. "Uh…Riku?" Sora turned.

The silver haired teen lifted up his keys, pressing a button. A loud "beep beep" was heard as a car alarm switched off. Riku walked over to the small black Suzuki. "It's not much," Riku said "But It'll get you to wear you need to be,"

Sora hoped into the front seat buckling his seat belt. "It's a _car_!" Sora exclaimed "That makes it amazing enough! The most common mode of transportation back on the island was a bike; now everywhere I turn there are cars. But, the business people, who worked on the mainland had cars, but they kept all their cars on the mainland, because that's where they'd need them. And-"

Riku smiled to himself as he drove. Sora talked a lot. But he didn't really mind it. He loved to hear Sora's voice. Riku had come to accept (though he'd never admit it to them) that Yuffie and Aerith were indeed right. He was hoping, maybe tonight he could get some kind of reaction out of Sora to prove that he was _that way_. Then, and only then, would Riku make his move.

>>>

_Can't explain all the feelings that you're making me feel  
My heart's in overdrive and you're behind the steering wheel _

Touching you, touching me  
touching you, god you're touching me

Leon's eye twitched as he tapped his fingers on his knee impatiently. The car was so full of _junk_ that Cloud had bought at the zoo there was hardly any room for the two boys themselves. A life size polar bear sat beside a life size Giraffe in the backseat (with half of it's body out of the window), several stuffed animals in the shape of Monkeys and hippos and snakes and frogs were piled in the back seat and about twenty penguin stuffed animals and six lions were piled in the front seat up to Leon's chest.

_I believe in a thing called love  
Just listen to the rhythm of my heart  
There's a chance we could make it now  
We'll be rocking 'til the sun goes down  
I believe in a thing called love  
Ooh!_

His blonde companion however, could move as freely as he chose to (and believe me, he did). Claiming that the driver needed space to breathe. As he drove like a blind drunk man on speed with a sugar rush he sang along to the most annoying, unmanly voice Leon had ever heard on the radio, that Leon had ever heard period. To top it all off, Leon was in a shitty mood. He had spent over six hours at the zoo, chasing Cloud around and tripping over hyperactive children. On top of that, they had gotten kicked out and banned forever after Cloud not only purchased half the gift shop, but got into a very intense argument with a twelve year old (which ended with her pulling the water works, and Cloud giving her 'the finger' )

_I wanna kiss you every minute, every hour, every day  
You got me in a spin but everythin' is A.OK!_

Leon groaned in frustration. He couldn't take it anymore. "Shut. Up." He said quietly

_Touching you, touching me_

Leon's eye twitched again as the blonde continued singing.

_touching you, god you're touching me _

"**SHUT UP! JUST SHUT THE FUCK UP YOU STUPID BLONDE! IF I HEAR YOUR STUPID ASS VOICE ATTEMPT TO HIT ONE MORE HIGHNOTE I'M GOING TO GO FUCKING INSANE!**" Whether it was the days…intensity, the ridiculousness of the lyrics, or the blondes voice reaching to octaves he never thought possible for anyone to reach, something cause Leon to snap, something he immediately felt bad for after. Every time he snapped at the blonde (which was rare) said blonde would get this incredibly hurt look in his eyes and immediately shut up, which made Leon feel like an immense ass hole.

But instead of looking hurt or angry the blonde simply grinned, before swerving out of the way of an incoming 18-wheeler and singing along with the song.

_I believe in a thing called love  
Just listen to the rhythm of my heart  
There's a chance we could make it now  
We'll be rocking 'til the sun goes down  
I believe in a thing called love  
Ooh! Guitar!_

"HEY!" Cloud exclaimed as Leon proceeded to grab the car radio out of its place and toss it out of the window. The boy then turned to him, after throwing ALL the stuffed animals in his lap out of the window, holding up a roll of silver duct tape. "Leon," Cloud said shakily, inching away from the brunette, "What are you going to do with that duct-"

The rest of the blonde's words were cut off by single strip of silver tape. With the treacherous road on the Traverse cliff leading back into the city that they were now traveling on, even Cloud didn't dare remove his hands from the steering wheel to remove the tape.

"Yurphamassfoleph"

Smiling wickedly Leon leaned in toward the blonde, cupping his own ear, "What's that Cloud? I can't hear you."

>>>

"SORA! RIKU! I'M SO HAPPY YOU MADE IT!" Yuffie screamed above the blaring music as the two boys stood at the door.

"WHAT!" Riku and Sora both exclaimed at the exact same time.

"I SAID I'M GLAD YOU-HEY! PUT THAT DOWN YOU STUPID HEAD!" Yuffie exclaimed chasing after a boy who had run off with a vase tossing it to his fried across the house. It was only 8:30 and the party was already alive. Yuffie's house was huge, as was all the other ones in this neighborhood, and the secluded ness of it made it perfect for having parties without the police being called…right away.

"I guess that's our cue to go in?" Riku said looking at Sora.

"What?" The brunette asked unable to hear him over the blaring music.

"I SAID WE SHOULD GO IN!" Riku screamed.

Sora nodded "OOOOOOOOO KKKKK!"

The two boys entered the house, all the guests, (which included over half the school), were all gathered in the enormous living room. Moving to the music blaring from the speakers, the crowd looked like one writhing mass. Like one humongous body swaying to the rhythm of the songs. "Wow." Sora said in awe at the giant crowd.

Riku grabbed his arm leaning towards his ear, "Wanna dance?" he asked, his voice making the hairs on the back of Sora's neck stand up.

Little did the two boys know, a pair of stormy blue eyes was fixing the pair with an icy glare. "That bitch, who does he think he is? Barely a week in this school and already he thinks he could have _my_ Riku?" the girl glared. She had put hours into making her alphit (a tight fitting white dress) and herself look just right, just for Riku. So, Riku was here with a guy, so what. She along with half the student body had suspected Riku swung both ways. The idea was too scandalous to be ignored, but they did anyway for fear of what would happen if they made the silver haired artist angry. Namine however couldn't care less. Riku, her Riku was almost perfect. All he needed was her on his arm and he would be complete.

She put down her glass of punch. _'Did that taste funny or was it just me?' _She shook her head, drawing her gaze away from the burgundy liquid and back toward her silver haired god, who wad currently grinding to the music with _Sora_. "Oh no no no no no," she mumbled angrily before regaining her cool and heading over to them.

>>>

Sora was on cloud nine. Sora was weightless. Sora was fucking floating. The music blaring from the speakers was intoxicating. He felt Riku in back of him, on top of him _inside of him. _Dancing with Riku to Sora was the equivalent of heaven. They were getting odd looks from the other dancers. All of whom were pairs of _opposite _genders. Riku responded to these looks by putting his hands on Sora's waist and Sora by moving closer to Riku. The people turned away and the two boys laughed.

"Excuse me," Sora's bliss was cut short as a perfectly manicured finger tapped him on the shoulder. "Mind if I cut in?" she asked using her hip to move Sora out of her way and so she could take his place. Riku looked unnerved as Sora's eyes narrowed at the girl, mentally wishing the chandelier would fall, crushing the blonde while miraculously sparing Riku. Catching Riku's eyes on him he smiled, "That's alright, I'm going to go…you know get some punch and…uh mingle," Sora said with feigned happiness.

Riku looked reluctant but Namine grabbed his hands and put them on her waist. "Come on Riku, you heard him."

With one last look at the fleeting brunette Riku reluctantly began dancing with the girl.

"Uhm…is this the punch?" Sora asked as he looked at the large bowl. The two boys that stood over it sniggered before nodding and hurrying away, only after filling their own cups. Since they had filled their own cups without hesitation Sora deemed the liquid drinkable and poured himself a cup. He sipped it. It was sweet but slightly strong, with an after taste he had never experienced. "What flavor is this?" he asked to no one in particular.

"IT'S ORANGE STRAWBERRY GRAPE APPLE MELON!" Yuffie cried as she jumped on the table, wiggled her hips and than proceeded to jump on Sora. "Whoo hoo! This juice rocks! I love juice! Juice is awesome!"

"Yuffie cough your cough choking me," Sora said. The girl squealed in delight before spotting Aerith and latching on to the young woman. Sora shook his head as they disappeared into the crowd, _'I wonder what got into her…' _Sora thought before finishing his cup of punch and quickly pouring himself another.

>>>

Silence. Sweet Wonderful captivating silence.

After Leon had awoken from his nap he was convinced that Cloud had drove the car off of the cliff and he had died and gone to heaven. Where no sounds disturbed his thoughts. But then he remembered he had taped the blonde's mouth together. He laughed.

The blonde had attempted to pull the tape off at the red light but Leon caught him, slapping the back of his head. Just than the a siren could be heard and in the rearview mirror Leon could see the blue and red flashes of the police lights. _'Shit,'_ he thought. Cloud pulled over and a man in the blue and black uniform began walking over to them with a flashlight in his hand.

"Do you know how fast you were goi-" he stopped as he reached the window and caught a glimpse of the drivers mouth taped shut. Flashing his light into the back seat of the car he caught glimpse of all the stuffed animals. "What in the hell?" he asked flashing the light in Leon's eyes. "That's it, step out of the car,"

Cloud glared at Leon. Wonder-fucking-full.

>>>

"Sora's been gone awhile," Riku said to Namine as they danced for the twelfth straight song. Yuffie's parents had long since come home and to everyone's surprise their only rule was that the D.J. not play any curses. Since all he had were the original versions of the songs he scratched out the curses, even though the guests who were singing along still said them.

"So…he's getting punch, maybe finding some friends so he doesn't have to hang on you 24/7" Namine said sticking her nose in the air.

Riku looked at her in disgust. "Wow…you really are a bitch," he mumbled before attempting to walk away.

"Excuse me?" she said grabbing on to his arm.

"You heard me," he snapped pulling his arm away.

"Riku Destati if you walk away from me I'll-" he was already gone before she was even halfway through with her sentence.

Riku had snubbed her. _Riku_ had snubbed her…Riku snubbed _her. _She laughed to herself to keep herself from screaming. As she watched Riku walk toward the snack table a smile formed on her lips. _'If you want it to be like that Riku…it can be like that,'_ she thought as she removed a single digital camera from her bag.

_> _

_A/N: Once again another chapter I'm gonna have to split into two…ehm…I just wanted to get up something since it's been awhile. I have lots in store…and I **PROMISE **that the Riku/Sora-ness will come in the next chapter. I'm very very sorry. Don't forget to review please…and now, I'm off to wash my hair and then…it's back to working on the next chapter! Oh yea…and the lyrics to "I believe in A Thing Called Love" belongs to the Darkness…I love them! They're so fun!_


	6. The Plot Thickens

_Beautiful Disaster_

_By: ScarletDreams _

_Disclaimer: All characters, most places things etc. belong to Square-Enix and Disney…or whatever, I don't own anything…so…don't sue me ok? _

**Chapter Seven**

_The Plot Thickens._

The officer rolled his eyes as he pulled the piece of tape off of Clouds Lips. The two boys were standing straight near the police car as the other deputy checked Clouds papers. The officer tossed the piece of tape to the ground, "Now what is going-"

"Whoohoo!Thankyouyourockitwasgettingreallyhotundertherecanubelievethisassdidthattome!" Cloud exclaimed jumping on the officer. "AllIwantedtodowassing!Singingisgood!Ilovesingingdoyoulikesinging?It'sgoodforyoursoulnotthatmrIcecubehasasouldyouknowwhati'msaying!"

The officer pushed Cloud off of him. "What the hell…are you high?"

Cloud paused, tilting his head to the side, "What? No!"

"Are you on any type of drugs or have you consumed any type of alcoholic beverage in the past twenty-four hours?"

Leon shook his head pulling Cloud back by the collar. "Uhm…Sir, this is how he always is. You see we just went to the zoo which explains the stuffed animals in the back, and he's had lots of sugar…and-"

The Sergeant held up his hand as the deputy called him over to check out the papers.

"What the hell do you think you were doing?" Leon hissed. The blonde, much to Leon's surprise, simply ignored him.

Several minutes later the sergeant returned. "We're terribly sorry for the inconvenience Mr. Strife. Please enjoy your night."

And with that, the officers got back in their cars and drove away. '_That's right, Cloud's fathers a politician, which means they wouldn't dare arrest us…'_ Leon thought sitting back in the car. This time, the silence was unnerving. Unnatural. The one thing he wanted most was something he thought he'd never _ever_ want. He wanted Cloud to babble his incoherent over dramatic nonsense and to drive crazily and out of control. But the blonde just stared straight ahead, gripping the steering wheel so tightly his knuckles turned white.

"Cloud," Leon said uncertainly.

"You're a real ass do you know that Leon?" Cloud exclaimed turning to the brunette.

Leon nodded. Cloud laughed running a hand through his blonde spikes. He hated the fact that it was so hard to stay angry with Leon, even when he deserved it.

"Anyway, now that that's over," he began, from under the seat he pulled out a portable radio and pressed 'on', beginning to sing once again.

_Can't explain all the feelings that you're making me feel  
My heart's in overdrive and you're behind the steering wheel _

Touching you, touching me  
touching you, god you're touching me

Leon banged his head against the dashboard. '_I should know better by know…' _

_>>>_

Riku ran a hand through his hair in frustration. It was impossible to find anyone in this writhing mass of people. Here and there he dodged couples making out or groups dancing away from everyone else, he tripped over plastic cups and turned over furniture. Yuffie's house was being completely _trashed. 'Speaking of Yuffie,' _Riku thought, _'I haven't seen her all ni-' _

"RIIIIIIIKKKKKKKKKUUUUUUUUUUU!"

The said boy gasped as the missing host latched herself onto him in a hug so fierce his breath was stopped mid inhale. "Uh…Hey, Yuffie,"

"Hiiiiyyyyyaaaaa Riku baby…what are you doing in my house?" she asked before giggling.

"Yuffie," Riku said wrinkling his nose as he smelled the liquor on her breath, a scent he was all too familiar with. "Have you been drinking?"

The raven-haired girl giggled again, "Of course, I've had twelve cups of my super duper extra yummy punch!"

"Yuffie! There you are!" Aerith exclaimed as she pushed through a crowd of people dancing. She pried the shorter girl away from Riku and held onto her firmly. "Sorry Riku, I think someone spiked the punch."

Riku sighed in relief, he knew that Yuffie knew better than to get drunk. Aerith had to grab Yuffie closer to her as a girl passed by with a plastic cup filled with the burgundy liquid and Yuffie attempted to hop on her back. "I'm going to take her upstairs now," she said pulling the girl with her.

"Why would they want to spike the punch? Stupid people," Riku mumbled as he continued to search for Sora. _'Wait,'_ Riku stopped as he remembered what Aerith said. _'Sora went to get punch,'_ He cringed at the thought of Sora downing several cups of seemingly harmless punch whilst Riku was on the dance floor with Namine.

He immediately picked up his pace, deciding he needed to find Sora. Now. He didn't have to look far before finding a crowd of teens sitting on a couch. He immediately recognized spiky brown hair sticking up from the side of the crowd.

"I'm a gangster. I'm a straight up G. The Gangster Life, is the life for me."

The crowd immediately burst into cheers as the boy finished.

"Oh! I have one! I know one!" Walking over Riku recognized the voice as Sora. Immediately he saw the brunette get up and sway back and forth.

"Ready?" he asked, his slurred words lost in his big grin. "Ay…Ay yo. My name is Sora. I have a milk carton. I know it's not rotten…CAUSE I DRANK IT!"

The crowd immediately burst into cheers.

"Sora!" Riku called fighting his way through the crowd to get to the brunette. He grabbed onto his arm, pulling him to the side.

"Riku!" the boy cried, pink tinting his cheeks from the alcohol. It was certain now. Sora, was drunk.

The D.J. put another record on. Sora's eye's immediately lit up. "THIS IS MY SONG!" he exclaimed dragging Riku to the dance floor.

_Ay_**scratch**_ wait till you see my_**scratch**

_Wait till you see my_**scratch**

_Ay_**scratch**_ wait till you see my_**scratch**

_Imma beat dat_**Scratch **_up_

_Ay_**scratch**_ wait till you see my_**scratch**

_Wait till you see my_**scratch**

Riku blushed as the boy danced wildly, causing several people to look at them. He attempted to pull Sora away but only succeeded in pulling him close to him.

_Like B-AM, B-AM, B-AM, B-AM, B-AM, _

_B-AM, B-AM, B-AM, B-AM, B-AM, B-AM, _

_B-AM, B-AM, B-AM, B-AM, B-AM_

Riku's blushed deepened as the boy proceeded to "back it up" on him. As people began to point and laugh Riku grabbed his arm, pulling him out of the house.

"Heeeeey," The brunette whined. "What was that for? I was having Fuuuuun!" he said wiggling his body at the last part.

"Because you were making a fool of yourself Sora," Riku exclaimed. "Come on, Let's get home." He said reaching out to grab Sora, who had climbed on the stone wall surrounding Yuffie's house. But the boy was currently drunk, and lost his balance easily. He slipped off the wall and onto Riku, sending them both sprawling out on the lawn.

Sora, drunk and all, blushed at their end position. Riku was lying on the grass, with Sora on top of him. Propping himself up so he was straddling the boy Sora stared at Riku. "You have…pretty eyes." Sora mumbled leaning closer to his face.

"Eh, Sora…aren't you a little…" Riku gulped, laughing nervously. "Clo-"

The next thing Riku new Sora's lips covered his own. At first Riku tensed, eyes wide with shock. _He's drunk Riku, he doesn't know what he's doing…'_ he attempted to tell himself. But eventually Riku gave in and kissed the boy back. After all…it was _Sora_. Sora slid his tongue over Riku's and the taste of liquor startled his senses. Grimacing in disgust he pushed Sora away.

"You're drunk Sora, this is crazy." Riku said pushing the brunette off of him so he ended up face down in the grass.

"No I'm noooooooot," Sora said shaking his head all to vigorously.

"Yes you are," Riku replied running a hand through his hair.

"No I'm not"

"Yes you are."

"No I'm not,"

"Yes you are."

"No I'm not!"

"Yes you are!"

Sora held his pointer and thumb fingers in the shape of a very close **'C'. **"This much,"

"Sora, you're drunk. Now let's get you home before you hurt or embarrass yourself."

Sora stuck his tongue out at the boy. "You're no fun," he mumbled as Riku ushered him into a car.

>>>

"Hello, May I please speak to Mrs. Himura? (_A/N: I'm watching Samurai X…leave me_)" Riku said into his cell phone.

"This is she…who's this?" a tired and irritated, but unmistakably female voice responded.

"Hi, This is Riku Destati, Sora's friend, he's not feeling well, is it alright if he spends the night at my house?"

"Oh are you another one of Sora's friends?" the woman asked, suddenly very awake. "Whoo hoo! I was right, he would make friends! Yay! He owes me five dollars now!"

Riku sweat dropped. "Uhm, is it alright if he stays? I have an extra uniform he can borrow."

"Sure!" Emmy explained from the other line. "Oh wait! Before you hang up. On Friday I'm having a friend of Sora's over for dinner. You should join us!"

Riku smiled at the brunette now sleeping soundly in the seat beside him. "I'd love to."

>>>

Namine grinned widely, clutching the camera in her hand as she wound the wheel until it stopped completely. The number at the top read "**0**". She laughed dropping the camera in her back. "Got it," she said happily turning on her heel to head back into the party. 'Justice' would soon be served, now it was time to have some fun.

> 

**_A/N: Whoo hoo! Another chapter! This one is kind of short…but…eh…bare with me? I hope you like it…it's not much but…it's an update. The plot is slowly thickening! Yay! And I set my review goal at this story for 30 reviews, and here we are, only chapter 7 and already I'm only 7 reviews away from my goal! Whoo hoo! That makes me very happy! Thank you very much to everyone who reviewed . Thank you to those who are reading this story and haven't reviewed. Now…if you'd please, since you'd already read…maybe, if you have something to say, you can review. Thanks! By the way, once again "I believe In A Thing Called Love," belongs to The Darkness and "Wait" is owned? Sung? Whispered? By the Ying Yang Twins. Thanks for your time, please stay tuned!_ **


	7. Alls Fair in Love and Blitzball

_Beautiful Disaster_

_By: ScarletDreams _

_Disclaimer: All characters, most places things etc. belong to Square-Enix and Disney…or whatever, I don't own anything…so…don't sue me ok? _

_WARNING: Cid appears in this chapter, around the end, and he'll be prominent in chapters afterwards…beware his potty mouth…laughs nervously _

**Chapter Eight**

_**Alls fair in Love and Blitzball**_

_Sora, drunk and all, blushed at their end position. Riku was lying on the grass, with Sora on top of him. Propping himself up so he was straddling the boy Sora stared at Riku. "You have…pretty eyes." Sora mumbled leaning closer to his face._

"_Eh, Sora…aren't you a little…" Riku gulped, laughing nervously. "Clo-"_

_The next thing Riku new Sora's lips covered his own. At first Riku tensed, eyes wide with shock._

Sora's eyes snapped open and he sat up quickly. He immediately regretted this as a terrible pain quickly spread through out his entire body. He brought his hand to his lips in memory of the dream. _Was it a dream? _He thought to himself. He reached down to pull his blue and white sheets back over him.

Sora stared at the black comforter he was laying on. _That's…not mine. _He thought in alarm. The white walls of the room defiantly were not his. This room was immaculately clean, you could actually see the floor, and there was a window that overlooked the city. Looking down Sora realized he was in the exact same clothes he had worn the night before…to the party…

"Hey Sleepy head." A voice called from the doorway. Riku stood their clad in his school uniform carrying a tray. "I was just coming to wake you up, how do you feel?"

Sora groaned bringing a hand to his forehead. "Like shit…a little worse. My head is killing me…" Sora said leaning against the headboard.

Riku laughed, "That's what happens after you've been drunk," he said handing Sora two pills and a mug of steaming black coffee.

Sora raised an eyebrow. "Drunk?"

Riku nodded sitting on the bed. "Someone spiked the punch, Yuffie was _smashed._" He said with a laugh.

'_So it wasn't a dream…'_ Sora thought. "Uhm…Riku, did I do anything…while I was drunk."

The silver haired boy immediately looked flustered, he stood up. "Ehm, uh…yea, I…uh…heh…you were drunk…and I…Sorry…" Riku sighed, nervous at the following silence. Sora had kissed him, and he had kissed back._ 'Only Sora was drunk and probably didn't know what he was doing…but I took advantage of that and…he probably hates me.'_

Sora smiled at the boy and motioned for him to sit back down, determined to keep his cool despite his stomach doing the type of gymnastics that would earn it an Olympic gold metal. _'Riku kissed me back…which means he likes me!'_ Just the thought made Sora want to jump around and do Selphie's 'Happy Dance'. "You know, alcohol does a lot of different things to people…" he mumbled sitting up so he was looking at the teen opposite him. "It may jumble your senses a bit…but this gives you the courage to do things you would never be brave enough to do otherwise…despite how bad you may have wanted to."

Riku looked at the boy surprised. "Are you saying…are you…_that way_?"

Sora shrugged. "I never really thought about it, but almost as soon as I got here I realized that I wasn't straight."

Riku sighed in relief, "That's good. Since I've had my eye on you Sora." he said quietly. It was now or never.

Sora smiled widely, "Me too…I mean…I think I like you Riku." He immediately cringed, afraid for some reason of the other boy's reaction. But when Riku returned his smile the brunette all but melted.

"Excellent." He said quietly staring at the other boy intensely, drinking all of him in. The lack of action made Sora uncomfortable but that was soon gone as Riku leaned in slowly, tilting Sora's face up to his own. Sora's eyes closed as Riku prepared his capture of his lips, but they quickly shot open as a loud and obnoxious buzzing sound reverberated through out the room. The sound was almost like nails on a chalkboard, and to Sora, who already had a mind-numbing headache, it was no better than hanging him by his thumbs and beating him with a wire hanger. Sora dove underneath the comforter, covering his head underneath the pillows as Riku lunged for the alarm clock, shutting it off. When Sora was positive the sound was sure he emerged from underneath the pillows.

Riku laughed at Sora's expression. It was incredibly cute. Half of his head peaked out from under the pillow and a pout had formed making him look like a scolded five years old. "Sorry about that, I usually need a little help in the morning." He explained sheepishly.

Sora sat up completely. "Ugh, I forgot today's Monday," he groaned rubbing the back of his head. "Blitzball tryouts…wonderful." He mumbled. He yawned widely picking up the warm and incredibly disgusting cup of coffee. "Maybe this will wake me up," he mumbled moving to take a sip.

With precision and skill Riku had the cup back on the dresser and Sora pinned against the bed. "Or maybe this will." He said seductively before capturing Sora's lips with his own. Sora responded immediately taking control of the kiss by sliding his tongue over Riku's, gently caressing it with his own. After several minutes of this Riku pulled away as Sora's watch beeped. All the signs were telling them to hurry up or they'd be late.

Sora sat on the bed looking dazed, grinning stupidly. "Yup…that works too."

>>>

"Today is the day young ones!" Cloud exclaimed as he marched into the lunchroom happily. "Today you shall all be judged physically and mentally! Your brain as well as your muscles will be put under stress so horrifying you-ack!"

"Shut up, you're scaring them." Leon said grabbing one of Clouds spikes and pulling him towards him.

"Ugh, do they have to be so damn LOUD!" Yuffie snapped as she buried her head deeper in her arms.

"The whole world doesn't stop because you have a hangover Yuffie," Aerith said, calmly sipping her strawberry shake. The "ninja" had somehow made it through the first five periods of the day, and lunch, the loudest period of the day seemed to be her downfall.

"Is it my fault some _asshole_ spiked my yummy punch?"

"Well is it our fault you weren't watching the punch? Or that you weren't perceptive enough to realize that the punch had an extra ingredient?" Riku offered fed up with hearing the girl complain about every little noise. She had snapped at him for putting his straw in his drink to loudly.

Yuffie threw her sandwich at Riku, who caught it and added it to Sora's collection of food on his tray. Yuffie turned to Sora, who looked as if he was in heaven as he shoveled every possible lunch entrée into his mouth.

"How the hell can you be so NORMAL? You were as drunk as me 49 cent!" Yuffie exclaimed banging her fists on the table.

"That was corny," Riku mumbled before dodging Yuffie's can of Pepsi.

"Riku took care of me," Sora said, though his stuffed mouth caused it to sound more like "Wiku cooked hairame"

Yuffie's head perked up at this, a smile spreading out on her face. "Took care of in what way eh?" she asked elbowing Sora who turned a horrible shade of red. This only caused Yuffie to smile wider. "AH HA! I knew that party was a good Idea! I told you they'd hookup Aerith!" she exclaimed loudly.

"We have no proof that they "hooked up" Yuffie," Aerith said patiently.

"Aw, phooey," Yuffie said sticking her tongue out at the other girl, "So you guys, are you an item or what?"

Sora inwardly smiled but looked to Riku instead. The silver haired teen calmly finished off his sprite before cocking his head to the side, as if he was in deep though, "Hm…well…I guess…if we were to make it official…so, whaddya say Sora? Wanna be my boyfriend?"

Sora blushed but attempted to stay cool, "Sure…why not, I think you'll do for now,"

Yuffie squealed at this before turning to Aerith, who placed twenty dollars in her hand. "Yea yea u won…go be hung over or something," she mumbled, nudging the shinobi that was currently performing her "Happy congratulatory victory dance" on the table.

Sora turned to Riku, almost as if to make sure the other boy was as serious as he was. Catching his eyes on him Riku smiled and winked at the boy, nearly causing him to choke to death on his milk shake.

>>>

The next two periods flew by alarmingly fast, so fast that Sora found himself sitting in the gym with a whole bunch of hopeful 'Hikari Crusaders' before he'd even digested his cheeseburger..s.

"Hello Candidates and Welcome to only the beginning of the long and difficult trials that lay ahead of you in your quest to be apart of this fine team!" Cloud said from his place sitting on one of the basketball hoops so that he looked down on them all. He was wearing the uniform, a pair of black shorts, with one leg coming below the knee and the other just above, with a yellow H and C inside a shield on the right leg. The jacket was yellow and short sleeved, it was open to reveal his chest with suspenders connecting the jacket to the shorts, a white hood hung in the back 1.

"Now young ones, I introduce you to what you all shall hope to be your teammates come Blitzball season," he said before jumping down, landing on his feet in front of them. "You all know me, of course, co captain of the Hikari Crusaders!" the crowd (mostly the fan girls in the stands) burst into applause and Cloud bowed.

"Don't encourage him," Leon said as he onto the black top with three other team members, all dressed identical to Cloud, (all except the girl who's yellow jacket was closed). "And you all also know the Human Ice cube Leon," he mumbled. There was some polite applause and a random "I love you Leon." 2

"Now…I'll introduce you to our team, on the offensive we have Irvine and Seifer," the two boys stepped forward. Seifer's eyes fell on Sora and he smirked. Sora's eyes narrowed and he glared at him.

Catching this, Cloud cleared his throat, "And finally, is Rikku, our goalie." The girl stepped forward, and this time the crowd in the stands (which was made up of all girls) cheered loudly.

"Let me explain how this works," Cloud continued. "We need a team of ten. A total of six players, plus the goalie need alternates as well. 10 –7 leaves three, which means we'll need four more alternates."

The gym was deathly silent as the crowd and the hopefuls attempted to make sense of what Cloud just said.

"For those of you who don't speak idiot, what my comrade is attempting to say is, out of the thirty of you that showed up her, only nine of you will make the team, and only two will actually get to play."

There was murmuring than as the closeness of the competition.

"Yea yea, so lets get this started already!" Seifer exclaimed.

>>>

"Bets! Place your bets here! Who's going to win the bet! Sora or Seifer? Will Sora make the team and have Seifer wearing Rikku's uniform, or will it be the other way around?" Yuffie said standing up on a chair into a large megaphone to the crowd of people before here.

"Of course Seifer's gonna kick his ASS!" A girl exclaimed, "I put fifteen on Seifer!"

A boy with a mohawk scowled, "Seifer's a prick, I put twenty on Sora!"

Aerith walked through the aisles with a cardboard box strapped to her front. "Put…ehm..please place your money in here." She said timidly walking up and down the aisle, taken aback by the whole crowd of screaming people that had flocked to the gymnasium that had once only been filled with several fan girls.

Yuffie laughed maniacally at the sight of more than half of the student body placing bets…more than half of the incredibly rich student body placing bets. "Why the chump change people! Are you scared! Show you support and Bet bet bet!"

"Forty on Sora!" A girl exclaimed from the back.

"Sixty on Seifer!" A boy exclaimed from the front

"85 ON Seifer!" The gymnasium erupted into screaming matches again, Aerith cowering in the middle of it.

>

"Alright you fuckin' pansies, listen up and listen good. On some real shit, there's only nine spots open, but only two of you bitches will get to play," Cid, the coach stood in front of the team, arms folded. His toothpick hung haphazardly out of the corner of his mouth, "So you better put out all you've got for this shit and give me a damn good show!" he exclaimed.

He took the toothpick out of his mouth, tossing it into the trash and motioning to his captains, "Now…let's get this show on the road!"

_A/N:UPDATE! **cheers…:finds out she's the only one cheering and stops..**: well….heh heh heh…ehm…I updated? Not a very good update…but I wanted to get Something out….erm…yea….now to elaborate. _

**1-A total rip off of Tidus's Blitzball uniform in Final Fantasy X…if you want to know what it looks like…than…go there. **

**2-Yup…there's fan girls…I mean, come on, if Leon and Cloud were in your school would you not stalk/attempt to molest them at every chance you got? I mean…come on…it's CLOUD and LEON!**

_I really am sorry if the RIku/Sora seems rushed...if anyone has any advice/suggestions/pointers, please do tell...rememeber...I'm net at this. Ahem…yes…I'd like you all to take a look at my profile because there is a very important note up there…that might upset some people…maybe…ehm…any thing regarding that note should be sent in an email please…not a review. Thanks…don't forget to review!_


	8. Obstacles

_Beautiful Disaster_

_By: ScarletDreams _

_Disclaimer: All characters, most places, things etc. belong to Square-Enix and Disney…or whatever, I don't own anything…so…don't sue me ok? _

**Chapter Nine**

_Obstacles _

Sora smiled confidently as he dived into the sphere bowl, along with the other fourteen kids in his group. The thirty hopefuls had been split into two groups. Sora was in the group with Cloud, Rikku and Seifer. The students would have to prove their worth until only nine were left. Of those nine, only two would make the team.

The first trial Sora's group was currently undergoing was the ability to stay underwater for long durations of time. Sora had long since mastered this, and knew he'd pass without flaw. Two or three students rose to the top for air just as they reached the thirty-minute mark. '_Pansies,'_ he thought. Rikku leaned in to whisper something in Cloud's ear, he nodded and wrote it down on the clipboard before signaling for the remaining students to approach the surface.

"Good, good. Most of you can hold your own in a sphere pool!" Rikku said hopping from one foot to another

"As a member of this team, everyone excels in their own area of the game. But in order to be a good player, you have to be able to stand your ground in any position on the team." Cloud said with a smirk, handing the clipboard. "First up, Rikku's position, goalie."

Cloud dove into the pool and one by one Rikku called the name of the hopefuls to enter the pool and take the goalie position. They were told that they were to stop Cloud from getting the ball in the net. Sora could tell that none of them actually took Cloud seriously by the way they snickered and mumbled 'piece of cake' before entering the sphere pool. Boy did they feel dumb.

By the third name called the hopefuls once excited cheers and mocking comments at Clouds serves had died down to an uncertain murmuring. One by one every single hopeful on the team fell prey to his bullet like movements. When Sora was called, he approached the sphere pool with confidence. He had practiced this only a two days ago. He was ready.

He took his position in front of the net and waited expectantly for Cloud, a knowing smile gracing his lips. The blonde did not even acknowledge Sora as one of his friends, at this moment he was just another candidate, nothing more, nothing less. _Cloud could be a goofball sometimes,_ Sora thought to himself. _But when he gets serious…He gets serious_

Bringing his arm back Cloud released the ball it flew towards Sora who took his stance and braced himself for the familiar impact as the ball hit his fingers, but all he got was air as the ball flew over his head and into the goal. He picked up the ball, tossing it back to Cloud who served it again, this time it flew past his right. Sora scowled, eyes narrowing. This was his last chance. As Cloud threw the ball Sora lunged forward. The ball hit his fingers bounced right off of them. The pain was unbearable and Sora thought he heard a crack.

He must have did the something right because as they were surfacing Cloud gave him the thumbs up signal, winking before exiting the bowl.

>>>

"How's it going?" Riku asked as he sat in the stands next to Yuffie.

"It's going great! Three hundred and fifty dollars worth of bets! Everyone's betting! And one hundred and fifteen of those dollars are on Sora!" Yuffie exclaimed holding up the wads of money she had collected.

Riku rolled his eyes, "I meant the tryouts, how are things moving along in the tryouts?"

"Who cares?" Yuffie mumbled

"The group Sora's in is about to complete their third tryout, the getting the ball in the goal, past Rikku." Aerith said pointing to the side of the special sphere arena Sora's team was located in.

Riku nodded thankfully, going over the order in his head. Trying to remember what had happened when he had tried out for Blitzball all those years ago, before…the 'incident' caused him to quit. "So that only leaves defense…with Seifer right?" he asked in a tone almost begging Aerith to say no.

She merely nodded grimly before focusing her attention back on the sphere pools. Riku followed suit, catching site of Leon complaining to Cloud about being to slow, seeing as how his team was all done. _Leon and Cloud…_He thought propping his elbow on his knee and placing his chin in his hand. He had known them since he was a freshman, but knew of them for way longer…since back when Leon was still Squall. Everyone knew Leon and Cloud, they were just so _odd._ Every where they went they got looks…they argued like a married couple on the verge of divorce, and anyone being with the incredibly loud Cloud was bound to get noticed whether they wanted to or not. Few people cared to look past Cloud's out of this world, most of the time just plain strange personality, to see that he could be responsible and trustworthy, and just serious in general. He just chose not to. Why be serious, when you can be Cloud?

Despite the two boys completely conflicting personality's they still managed to stay friends and work together perfectly. They led the Blitzball team to victory two years in a row, one year as offense and last year as Captains. Cid may have seemed senile, but he sure knew what he was doing when he picked those two to work together.

"Heeeeelllllllloooooo!" Yuffie cried jumping on Riku's back "Earth to Riku! We've been calling you for the past five minutes!"

Shaking himself out of his stupor Riku pushed Yuffie off of him. "What is it?"

"Sora is about to go up, he's the last one." Aerith said looking at her watch.

>>>

Sora couldn't help but feel more than a little unnerved as he caught sight of the malicious look that came on Seifer's face as he followed Sora into the bowl.

"Seifer, watch yourself," Leon called from the sidelines before tossing the Blitzball into the sphere. Sora quickly swam to the top and got a hold of it, skillfully maneuvering his way across the sphere.

"Sora's pretty good," Yuffie said.

Just than, Seifer barreled into Sora from the right causing the boy to fly right into the platform where the referee would sit.

"Whoo…scratch that." She said wincing.

Sora attempted to regain his composure, despite the numbing pain in his side.

Riku unconsciously opened and closed his fist, biting down on his lip nervously.

Retrieving the ball again Sora made a beeline for the goal, but was stopped when Seifer tackled him from the front causing the boy to spiral backwards. Sora caught himself though and stopped himself before he could make impact with anything. Throwing Seifer a fierce glare he immediately charged forward. Seifer dived down, only to resurface on his left. He through himself into the smaller boy, sending him flying out of the sphere bowl.

Cid blew his whistle immediately, calling for everything to stop and Seifer to come out of the bowl.

"Sora!" Riku cried as the other boy sailed into the crowd and hit the stands with a sickening "**bam!**" He jumped over the bleachers and pushed people out of his way, jumping through crowds before finally reaching the boy. "Sora…" he said kneeling before him.

Sora lay back on the bleachers with his eyes closed. At the sound of Riku's voice he opened one. "Ouch." He mumbled. He added a small smile for measure after catching the terrified look on the other boys face.

Riku sighed in relief, laughing at his own eagerness. He had been so worried for Sora. _So scared…_ he thought before shaking the thought from his head and helping the other boy up.

"What the _hell_ is your problem!" Cloud exclaimed angrily as he walked swiftly toward Seifer, who was giving Irvine five.

Seifer smiled cockily, tilting his head to the side, "What do you mean?"

Cloud prepared himself to lunge at the other boy but the rock solid form of Cid came between them. "That was unnecessary." Cid said angrily, his eyebrows narrowed so closely together they touched.

Seifer looked alarmed but played it off with a laugh and a simple 'feh'. "Simply doing my job," he said throwing a look towards the stands. The glare he received from Riku would send anyone into nervous mode and Seifer fidgeted a bit.

"Don't you think that's going to go unpunished," he said angrily. His eyes fell on Yuffie attempting in vain to hide the money now that the coach had entered the scene. He smiled. "But that…comes later." He nodded towards Leon, signaling him to take control of the tryouts once again.

"All the participants please come to the front," he said taking the clipboard from Rikku.

"Are you sure you're ok?" Riku asked, helping Sora down the bleachers.

The other boy smiled at him before nodding. "Just a few scratches, they can wait. I'd much rather hear this."

Riku sighed and shook his head. This bet was becoming way out of hand. He walked Sora down to where the others were gathered and than moved to the side, to allow Cloud to begin.

"Now, you all did good-" Cloud said returning to his regular mood

"Well," Leon corrected. "You all did well,"

Cloud stuck up his middle finger at the brunette before continuing. "You all did _well_," he repeated throwing a glare at Leon. "But…unfortunately we can only pick nine people to be finalists."

The tension in the sphere arena rose at Clouds words.

"And those nine people are," Rikku began as Cloud started a drum roll.

Sora didn't pay attention to the other names she called on the list, he really didn't care, he just needed to hear his name, than everything would play out from there.

"And last but not least, Zell Dincht, and Sora Himura,"

"WHOO HOO! YEA! GO SORA!" Yuffie exclaimed, disturbing the silence of the arena.

The thirty something students looked up at the Blitzball team hopefully. "Uh…" Irvine began "Can the ones who didn't hear their names called please-"

"SCRAM! Bye bye! Get lost!" Rikku exclaimed pumping her fist in the air.

"See ya! Later! Go Away!" Cloud joined in, following her motions as well.

The two continued to dance around the arena until only nine remained in the arena.

"Congratulations on making the 2nd round. All of except for two of you are official alternates for the Hikari Crusaders," Leon said ignoring the co-captain and goalie dancing around in back of him.

"Don't wimp out now though! You may think you're done but on Wednesday we'll be headin' down to the hospital to get checked out, and then the shit really hits the fan!" Cid exclaimed with a sneer.

"The two newest additions to the front line will be announced on Friday. Be here 8:15 am on Wednesday, if you come late-" Leon began

"You can wave to us as we drive off without you!" Cloud interrupted jumping in front of the other boy.

"Bye bye!" Rikku exclaimed joining him in the front.

>>>

"HA HA HA! In your face Seifer!" Yuffie exclaimed happily after crushing Sora in a bear hug.

The blonde who was currently changing back into his school uniform in the locker room paused in putting on his t-shirt to look at her with a raised eyebrow. Obviously something was bothering him.

"Sora won the bet!" She exclaimed from the hopping back on the bench, next to Aerith who looked very uncomfortable in the men's locker room.

Seifer laughed before tossing his uniform in his locker and picking up his bag to leave. "No, I don't think he has," he said with a smug smile.

"What do you mean no I didn't?" Sora exclaimed surprised. "I'm one of the nine!"

"You may be one of the nine," Irvine said turning to leave, "But that just means you're an alternate. Only two out of the nine will actually be on the team." He said smugly.

A small 'oof' was heard from Sora as Cloud jumped on his back "Ooo Loophole." The blonde exclaimed.

"Not until Cid calls the two names on Friday do you win or loose the bet." Seifer mumbled before opening the doors and leaving.

"Who are the two?" Sora asked tilting his head to look up at Cloud.

Cloud jumped off Sora's back, sitting on the bench and looking up at Sora. "I have no idea,"

"What!" Yuffie exclaimed.

"Our job is done…everything else is up to Cid," Leon said with a shrug.

Sora groaned. "Wonderful," he said putting his head in his hands.

Aerith glanced at her watch, frowning at the time, "Yuffie," she said holding up her wrist for the other girl to see.

"OH NO!" Yuffie cried jumping up. "We're late! WE'RE LATE! DON'T JUST SIT THERE AERITH WE'RE LATEEE!" She exclaimed getting up and running towards the door. "Good Luck Sora," she said before running out the locker room.

"Yuffie's on punishment, she has a 6 o' clock curfew on school days for a week," Aerith exclaimed before following the girl.

The clock now read 6:30, justifying the hyper girls speedy departure. "I better get home too," Leon mumbled picking up his bag and heading for the door.

Cloud shrugged following suit. "Later Sora!" he exclaimed before following the brunette out the locker room.

The silence that followed was deafening. "Heh…Today was…interesting." Sora said nervously, attempting to kill the silence.

Riku was looking at him with concerned eyes. He looked at Sora's fingers, which were now slightly swollen. Catching him looking Sora laughed nervously, putting his hands in his pockets.

"I tried to catch one of Cloud's serves with my fingers…we can all see that didn't work," he said with a smile.

Riku shook his head, "Come on, I can patch you up at my house," he mumbled holding out his arm for the other boy to take.

>>>

Namine's blood boiled as she replayed the scenes of that afternoon, right from Riku running to Sora after the accident to the two boys walking out of the school arm in arm. She refused to loose Riku to anyone, let alone to a boy. With an irritated growl she through her pillow against the wall and rolled over to her purse. From it she pulled out her cell phone, dialing several numbers and waiting for someone to pick up.

"Hello, You have reached Heartily Photo's. I'm sorry that we missed your call but if you leave your name, number and a brief message we'll get back to you shortly."

She clenched her fists irritated. "This is Namine, I need to know how soon you can get me my pictures…and it better be _real soon._"

>

_A/N: Lookie…another update. I hope that you enjoyed this chapter. It was really difficult to write I thought I'd never finish!…and I'm just really glad it's over with. Not too much Riku/Sora-ness or any romance, but…it's coming. This is most likely my last update until September (Look in profile for details) but I'm debating with myself on whether I should start another chapter tonight. I don't want to start typing up a chapter and then leave with it unfinished, and if I am gonna finish it in one night, it's gonna be hard…and if I can't finish it in one night I won't update at all. So if there is no update by tomorrow morning than please await another in September. Thanks so much for reading, if you have something to say…please review. Oh yes! I reached my goal! Whoo hoo! Thank you to all my wonderful reviewers who reviewed my story so far, and especially to those of you who reviewed last chapter: _

**Magician Cyborg**_- Hiya! Thank you so much for reviewing…Four times! Thank you very very much! I'm glad you enjoyed last chapter and I hope you enjoyed this one too! _

**Jenni Kunoichi**_- Thank you very much for both of your reviews! I really appreciate it! I'm glad you liked the Riku/Sora scene because I was a little iffy about that. And about your question. It's a seeeeeeccccrrrrrrreeeeeeeet! _

**Super Yam**_- Thank you very much for your review. I didn't really understand what you meant about Riku being "to believable". But…about the whole Blitzball thing…you'll see!_

**ChibiNekoSakura**_- yay! We cheer! Lol…thank you very much for all of your reviews! I'm glad that you're happy Riku and Sora are together…but remember…this story is only beginning…hee hee hee…._

_And to everyone else that ever reviewed or even read this story…THANK YOU VERY MUCH! _


	9. Past and Present

_Beautiful Disaster_

_By: ScarletDreams _

_Disclaimer: All characters, most places things etc. belong to Square-Enix and Disney…or whatever, I don't own anything…so…don't sue me ok? _

**Chapter Ten**

_Past and Present_

"So how do you know about all this stuff anyway?" Sora asked from his place on the couch in Riku's living room. He felt more laid back here than in Cloud's house. Since it was less than half the size.

Riku emerged from the kitchen holding an ice pack in one hand and a first aid kit in the other. "What do you mean?" he asked bending down in front of the boy and taking his hand. He opened up the first aid kit and rubbed the ointment on Sora's fingers before placing the icepack on them.

"This!" Sora motioned to his hand with his head.

Riku shrugged, "I used to watch my mom patch up my dad, he always had an injury when he came home, busted knuckles from bar fights, or just plain busted…I guess I just learned." He said getting up to sit next to Sora.

Sora leaned his head to the side, "Where's your mom now?" he asked looking around.

Riku shrugged, "She left a long time ago, don't blame her either, not with the man she was with."

They sat in silence for awhile. Sora, while glad he had gotten to learn more about Riku, he was also upset at himself for bringing up such a touchy subject that obviously made Riku upset. _Could this be part of the reason he quit Blitzball?_ Sora thought. He really wanted to ask Riku his reasons for quitting when it had been made clear to Sora that Riku at one point had been quite good. But he didn't want to upset the boy anymore so he settled with what seemed like a more mild question. "And how'd you know what to do with me this morning?" he asked, referring to the hang over.

"Same reason, my father comes home drunk a lot, so, I'm used to dealing with hangovers." He said, turning to smile at Sora, but his eyes were hard at the mention of his father, who had yet to appear on the scene.

_He doesn't get along with his father much, _Sora thought deciding it best to not bring up that subject in the future.

"Take off your shirt." Riku said opening up the first aid kit.

"What!" Sora exclaimed taken aback by this request.

Riku rolled his eyes, "Don't be so modest Sora, it's just your shirt. I'm not going to molest you I just want to see if you hurt yourself anywhere else when you went flying into the bleachers."

Sora complied, half intrigued by the idea of being molested by Riku. _Note to self, add that to my to do list_ Sora thought as the silver haired boy began to rub something on his side, which was currently turning a light purple. Sora watched Riku work, as he gently applied a large gauze bandage to the area. His eyebrows were furrowed and his eyes fixed as if he was in deep concentration.

"Whatcha thinkin' about?" Sora asked.

The other boy smirked, stepping away from his finished work. "I was just wondering how someone as scrawny as you could fly so far and not break any bones,"

Sora scowled even though he knew Riku was only teasing. "I'll show you scrawny!" he exclaimed pouncing on the other boy so that they both ended up on the ground with Sora on top of Riku. Sora smiled cockily. "Not so scrawny now eh!"

Riku raised an eyebrow, "I don't know…you're still kind of light," he said, as if to emphasize his statement he rolled over, pinning Sora to the floor.

"Yea?" Sora asked attempting to slow down his heart beat.

"Yea." Riku replied covering Sora's lips with his own.

>>>

"So what do you think?" Cloud asked before taking a drink from his coke can.

"What do I think about what?" Leon asked nonchalantly.

Cloud sighed leaning his chin in his hand. He loved nights like this. The last of Summer was slowly leaving, making way for the winter, which crept in slowly, one wind at a time. A soft wind ruffled the leaves in the trees, removing several of the auburn leaves from the tree. Sitting in Leon's passenger seat, staring into the sky, drinking coke, as if time would wait for them. "I wish everyone would turn off their damn lights. Is seeing one star to much to ask?" Cloud said, finishing off his coke and tossing it into the trashcan a few feet away.

"What do I think about _what_?" Leon repeated, warning Cloud to stick to the subject he started.

"About Sora making the team?"

Leon shrugged. "He doesn't seem like the type suited for this sport."

"Neither did I." Cloud replied coolly. Leon merely grunted.

The silence that followed was not an uncomfortable one. Leon and Cloud's relationship wasn't completely structured around words. Not at all.

"How much more time do we have?" Cloud asked looking up into the sky.

Leon turned to the blonde. "What do you mean?"

"You know, how much more time can we waste here…just, doing nothing."

"Not long," Leon replied leaning back in his chair. _Not long_ he repeated in his mind. There was so much he had always wanted to do…to tell the other boy. But it could always wait. It would always wait till "he was serious" or "till next year"…but this was it. Leon and Cloud were seniors, and would probably never speak to each other after graduation. _Don't be stupid!_ Leon's mind snapped at himself. _Of course you'll still speak to him. Cloud will always be there._ But no matter how much he tried to convince himself, he still heard Cloud's voice in the back of his mind. Asking him how much time was left, and his reply, _Not long….not long at all._

Leon snorted, "You sound like a character in one of those daytime soap operas," Leon said turning the key into the ignition and starting the car. When he didn't receive a reaction from the other boy he turned to look at him, catching him fast asleep. _He's kind of cute when he's asleep_ Leon thought as he began to drive away. Those kinds of thoughts didn't even bother him anymore. At first he was alarmed at how he sometimes thought of his best friend. But he had become so accustomed to it, it was now apart of his daily routine. Wake up, go to school, yell at Cloud, think of how cute Cloud is while being yelled at, yelling, or acting like an idiot, yell at Cloud some more…it was all routine now. If only the blonde didn't annoy the crap out of him maybe there could have been something more between them. "Maybe one day," Leon said softly oblivious to the fact that the blonde now had one eye slightly opened.

'_Yea,' _Cloud thought with a smile '_Someday'_

_>_

_A/N: hee hee…I told myself that I'd update this fic again, like a full blown chapter chapter…but…than my boyfriend decided to pull me away from the computer…since I'll be gone for two months…and I just got home…and I'm feeling fluffy…so I figured I'd post a little bit of fluffiness and leave you with that until September. Actually it's more of me just setting the stage for future happenings…and throwing in a little bit of Riku/Sora and Cloud/Leon… If you didn't like this chapter…blame my boyfriend…IT'S ALL HIS FAULT! But if you did…hee hee…I'll take full responsibility :-). Well…if I can get someone to let me go online for a few minutes or if I go to a library or something I'll update on Beautiful Disasters progress in my live journal (link can be found in my profile) but like I said I won't have my own compy to type on…so…don't expect another update until September…well…thank you all who reviewed and read my last and this chapter…If you have something to say, Please don't hesitate to review! Thank you, until next time…_

**Scarlet**

**Stained **

**Dreams**


	10. So The Problems Strictly Mental Then?

_Beautiful Disaster_

_By: ScarletDreams _

_Disclaimer: All characters, most places things etc. belong to Square-Enix and Disney…or whatever, I don't own anything…so…don't sue me ok? _

**Chapter Eleven**

_So The Problems Strictly Mental then?_

Sora took a deep breath as he saw Yuffie leaving the school building. He had been preparing himself for this most of the day and avoiding Riku the rest of it. He gulped before stepping forward. "Hey Yuffie!" he called, grinning idiotically.

She looked around to see who was calling her name, smiling and waving when she spotted Sora. "Hiya! Riku's been looking for you everywhere."

Sora frowned. _'I know…I've been running from him.' _"erm…yea. About that. Can I talk to you?"

Yuffie raised an eyebrow. "Sure…" she said walking with him to the fountain.

"You see…" Sora said sitting down. "My mom thinks I like you."

Yuffie blinked, staring at him blankly before bursting into laughter.

Sora pouted. "I'm Serious!" he cried. "She wants me to invite the person I like to dinner Friday night. Only she thinks she knows who I like…so she really wants me to invite you to dinner."

Yuffie shrugged. "Why don't you just tell her you don't like me and bring Riku over?"

Sora looked at his feet as they traced circles in the dirt. "Because…she's expecting a girl. You don't expect me to bring home a guy and say Riku meet my mom, Mom meet my Riku, oh, by the way I'm gay so all you're dreams of me producing grandchildren and pretty much screwed."

Yuffie shrugged. "Sure."

"Yuuuuuuuffffffiiiiiiiie!" Sora whined.

Yuffie looked him over shaking her head. "Fine…I'll do it. But if Riku finds out…you forced me on threat of death."

Sora smiled. "THANKYOU!" He exclaimed jumping her in a hug.

>>>

"There you are." Riku said slipping his arm around the brunette who had been M.I.A. all day. He pulled into the cover of an alley between two buildings, gently pushing the boy against the wall. He placed both hands on either side of Sora's head, pressing their lips together.

He pulled away, surprised by the lack of response he was getting. Riku looked down worriedly. "Is something wrong?"

One look at Riku made Sora want to throw himself in front of the approaching bus. He was a horrible person, lying to someone who so obviously trusted him. He laughed nervously. "Something wrong? Huh? N-no way!"

"You're shaking." Riku stated.

Sora bit his lip. His conscious was urging him to just confess. He never was a good under pressure. "Uhm…look there's my bus. Everything's fine. I'll call you later I have to go." He exclaimed turning to leave.

Riku grabbed his arm. "I can drive you."

Sora laughed again. It was an old habit. Whenever he was nervous or afraid he'd laugh, almost to the point of hysteria. It was very very annoying. "Well…uh I was going to meet my mom…"

Riku smiled. "Even better. I'd love to meet her."

"NO!" Sora exclaimed, kicking himself afterwards.

Riku stepped back, looking at Sora confused.

"I mean…she uh, just got out of work and is probably all sweaty and gross looking. If I let you see her like that she'd go on and on and I'd never hear the end of it. But…eh…she actually can't wait to meet you." He said, wincing at his lies.

"You…told her about…us?" Riku asked

Sora bit his lip, nodding. Did nods always hurt this much? "Of course!" he gave Riku a quick peck, "I'm gonna miss my bus! Call you later, promise" he called back as he boarded the bus.

Once the bus pulled away Riku slumped against the wall, running a hand through his hair. _'So Sora's told his mother…'_ He thought, feeling somewhat guilty. _'And I can't even get up the courage to think of telling my father…'_

_>>>_

"SORA! This isn't going to work!"

Sora cringed, moving the phone away from his ear. "Yes it will. Trust me Yuffie…I've thought this all out."

She sighed. "You're just making things harder for yourself…ah whatever. I'm on my way to Aerith's house. I'll call you back."

"Thanks Yuff." Sora said.

She merely grunted, hanging up the phone and tossing it in her bag. "Stupid Boys."

>>>

Riku turned the key in the lock. He turned the knob, pushing the door. It opened a little…but stopped as if something was blocking it. _'The hell?'_ He thought as he pushed harder, throwing all his weight on the door. Whatever was blocking it shifted a little, leaving an opening just big enough for him pass.

He squeezed through the entrance and sighed as he caught sight of his father, asleep on the floor, right in front of the door. '_Probably collapsed as soon as he got in.' _Riku thought disgusted. The spilling beer bottle beside him confirmed Riku's suspicion that he was drunk. Not that this was abnormal. His father was drunk 23 hours a day.

Making his way to the kitchen Riku quickly started up a pot of coffee for the man when he woke up and made his way upstairs. As soon as his father woke up, all hell would break loose. It always did, and Riku didn't want to be in the middle of it…again.

Once in his room he set up his easel and paints. He placed a random c.d. in the stereo and leaving the volume a soft hum. He took his sketchbook, choosing the picture of the angel, the one Sora liked. He turned to the page and set it up beside the easel.

Sure enough someone was banging on his door, kicking it so hard the hinges shook.

"Get your ass out here you stupid fucking pansy!" He exclaimed in a drunken slur. "I'm gonna fucking kill you! I'll kill you!"

Riku sighed moving to his stereo and cranking the volume up to ten.

He could still hear his father yelling about how bad everything was, and how everything was his fault.

"Yea, yea." Riku said rolling his eyes as he grabbed the remote, turning on the TV. And putting that as loud as it could go. The two sounds together drowned out everything but the banging of the door as it rocked back and forth on its hinges.

>>>

Sora quickly ran to the courtyard, afraid of being late.

It was Wednesday, physical day at the hospital, and he didn't put it past Cid to leave, even if everyone was not there.

"FINALLY! We were afraid we'd have to leave you here!" Rikku exclaimed, pointing to the team already boarding the bus.

"Am I the last to arrive?" he asked, breathless from running.

"No," a boy with a clipboard said drawing from the crowd to join them. "Cloud isn't here yet."

Sora shook his head. Just like Cloud to be late.

"What kind of example is that? The _captain_ showing up late?" Rikku asked, throwing her hands up.

"A bad one." A voice said from behind Sora, causing him to jump. Sora sighed when he realized it was just Leon. _'I'm never going to get used to that.'_

"What else would you expect from him?"

"What do we do if he doesn't show up in time?" Rikku asked

Leon shrugged, "We wave to him as the bus drives away."

"This seat taken?" A boy asked sitting down before Sora could answer. He turned to Sora and smiled. He had short, spiky blonde hair and a tattoo down the left side of his face. "I'm Zell…and you're?"

"Sora." He said taking his hand and smiling back.

"Hey, I know you!" Zell exclaimed pointing at him. "You're the kid that made the bet with Seifer! Good luck man! I'm counting on you to put him in his place."

Sora nodded, smiling even wider. So there were people rooting for him.

A hush fell over the bus as several rings were heard. Looking over the seat in front of him Sora saw Cid, Leon and Riku leaning over a cell phone. On the fifth ring, the unmistakable voice of Cloud came on.

_Hello?_

"Where are you? You were supposed to be here twenty minutes ago." Leon asked rather calmly.

_Who's this?_

"The whole fucking Blitzball team boy! Where the hell are you?" Cid exclaimed, lighting a cigarette.

_Oh…Hey!_

"Listen you ass, we're leaving! Where are you?" Seifer asked from his seat.

_Oh yea…about that. I have something to tell you._

"What is it Cloud? Why are you avoiding the question?" Rikku asked exasperated.

_Well…you've actually reached my voicemail. I'm not picking up my phone right now…but if you leave a message I might call you back…maybe…later…if I feel like it. Wait for the beep!_

If the bus wasn't quiet before, it was now. A loud beep was heard. Leon's left eye twitched in annoyance. Only Cloud would have time to do something so incredibly juvenile. Leon glared at the phone, shutting it with a growl.

A few people sniggered at the fact that Leon had been caught with such an odd trick. The voicemail was designed to seem like a conversation, so the person would actually talk to the machine, and then feel incredibly stupid, and Leon fell for it hook, line and sinker. They stopped as they caught his glare. Some swore they saw fire in his eyes.

"Forget him, just drive." Irvine said putting his feet up on the chair in front of him.

"Wonder where Strife is?" Zell thought out loud. "Leon is pissed."

Sora nodded. Cloud was the only one who could piss Leon off so many times and remain in one piece.

Zell nudged Sora. "What's his problem?"

Sora looked up to find Seifer glaring at him. They locked eyes and he grinned before turning away.

Sora scowled. "Who knows?"

>>>

"All right, quiet down!" Cid said to the mass of students surrounding him. When he received no response he lit a cigarette, sighing. "It's to goddamn early for this."

Leon stood up from his place leaning against the buss door. _'I always have to do everything.'_ "Shut up." He said quietly. The students abruptly obeyed.

"Okie dokie, this is what's going to happen!" Rikku said jumping up.

"Simmer down tour guide Barbie." Irvine said. "You go inside, talk to a bald guy or two, maybe get a shot and move on with your life." He waved to some swooning girls that had passed.

"Exactly. So lets stop playing like little miss field trip director." Seifer said, pushing Rikku towards the door. She stuck her tongue out at him.

"NO SIR! YOU CANNOT GIVE PATIENTS SKITTLES INSTEAD OF MEDICATION!" A nurse screamed, obviously exasperated with the man before her.

"Why not? Sick people deserve to taste the rainbow too. Plus that'll help you discern who's really sick from the ones who are just pretending to be sick because they want skittles."

Leon closed his eyes taking a deep breath. _That can't be him…he's not that stupid. _

"THIS IS A HOSPITAL! EVERYONE HERE IS SICK!"

Slowly Leon turned to see whom she was yelling at. Deep down he already knew who it was. There was only one person that stupid.

"That's what you think…which is exactly why we need the skittles."

Sure enough, there sat Cloud. The only person in the world who had the power to anger a hospital employee to the point of violence.

"Get him out of there before she destroys the rest of his brain cells with a blow from that clipboard."

This was unnecessary though, since the blonde had already spotted them and was making his way over.

"Hey! You guys are late! I already got checked out." Cloud said when he reached them. He held out his arm, which had a small, round bandage. "I'm perfectly healthy!"

"So the problems strictly mental than?" Seifer asked.

Cloud stuck his middle finger up at him.

"All right, all right." Cid said. "Let's get this show on the road…"

>>>

The bus parked in front of the school. Cid stood up, holding a stack of papers in his hand. "Alright! All of you better get your asses in on Friday 'cuz that's when I'm going to let you know who did and didn't make the cut."

There was a collective cheer as Sora and Zell exchanged uneasy glances.

"Well…talk to you later I guess." Zell said shaking Sora's hand once more.

Exhausted, Sora stepped off the bus. He just wanted to meet with Yuffie, finalize the plans for Friday and go home. Across the street a car was parked underneath a streetlight that he automatically assumed was Yuffie.

His eyes widened as he saw Riku standing across the street. Staring straight at him. He was still in his uniform, so he apparently hadn't gone home.

"Shit!" Sora exclaimed his legs working in reflex mode and beginning to run. He bolted out the gates and across the street, jumping into the car and banging on the dashboard. "DRIVE!" He exclaimed.

"Excuse me." A voice asked after a moment of silence.

That. Was not. Yuffie's voice.

Slowly he turned to look at the driver. It was a pretty girl with wine colored eyes and long black hair. He recognized her as the waitress from the 'Seventh Heaven'.

He gulped before moving slowly towards the door. He leaned on it and released the lock causing the door to open and him to tumble out onto the concrete. He looked up to see Cloud and Yuffie standing over him.

"Sora?" they both asked in unison.

Sora sat up, opening his mouth to answer, but stopping as he saw Riku had crossed the street and was now merely four feet away. He grabbed Yuffie's hand. There was no way he could face the silver haired boy without breaking down and telling him everything. It was better to just run away now. "RUN!" he exclaimed, sprinting in the opposite direction. He'd make it up to him later.

>>>

"So Leon, about those uni…forms…" Rikku stopped, backing away as she saw Leon glaring at the car across the street that Cloud was currently getting into.

He turned to her and she was sure his very gaze would make her combust. "What?" he asked icily.

"Erm…uh…NOTHING!" She cried as she ran from the room.

>>>

"Weird kid." Tifa said as Cloud slid into the seat beside her.

Cloud nodded. "Hell of a Blitzball player though."

>

_A/N: HEEEEEEEY! I'm back! Judging from the number of "It's September now! Please update!" messages I received I am glad to know that I still have readers! I'm back from a very productive summer with the message expect updates…lots of them. Hee hee. Please don't forget to review! (I already PASSED my goal! I'm not even anywhere near the end either! YAY! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!). _


	11. Why Are You Avoiding Me?

_**Beautiful Disaster**_

_**By: ScarletDreams **_

_**Disclaimer: All characters, most places things etc. belong to Square-Enix and Disney…or whatever, I don't own anything…so…don't sue me ok?** _

_/The truth burns bright.  
There's too much there sometimes.  
The sun it shows, the sun it blinds.  
Best to keep your eyes.  
Stare at the sidewalk lines.  
Let lies lie, don't let them shine./_

**Chapter Twelve**

**Why Are You Avoiding Me?**

"Wake up Sleepy Head!"

"Wake up Sleepy Head!"

"Wake up Sleep-"

Sora picked up the alarm clock, flinging it to the wall. It shattered into pieces, silencing the recorded message his mother had put on his alarm clock.

He sat up, running a hand through his mangled hair as he looked at the alarm clock with remorse. _Fourth one this week_ he thought as he slowly got out of bed.

It wasn't until he made his way downstairs and saw his mother experimenting with the stove in the kitchen, a permanent grin plastered on her face did he realize what day it was.

His mother _never_ cooked so the fact that she was making an attempt only proved to him how important this was to her. He groaned burying his head in his arms. If things worked well…his mother would be happy, Riku would never know the difference…but the fact that he lied to and deceived both of them would be constantly eating at his conscious. If things didn't work well…his mother will probably hate him, Riku would hate him, and just because his luck sucked, he'd have to walk around in the girls uniform for a week and face the shame of losing the bet to a prick like Seifer.

Either one sounded horribly bad.

>>>

"Thanks for waiting for me last night." Leon said, angrily shoving his book bag into his locker.

Cloud shut his own, cocking his head to the side, much resembling a confused puppy. "You always complained about getting home taking twice as long when you drove me…so I asked Tifa for a ride."

Leon slammed his locker shut. "Feh…so you asked _Tifa_." He spat out the name.

"Yes I asked _Tifa_ why not? She's my friend too!" Cloud exclaimed, his voice rising to match Leon's. "Why are you so mad!"

"I DON'T KNOW!" Leon yelled. The two other boys in the locker room hurried out. "There's just something about you that pisses me off!" Leon regretted his words as soon as he said them. He hadn't worded that right.

Cloud looked hurt for a moment before his eyes narrowed angrily. "Well _excuse me_ for being _alive_!" he yelled.

"Oh don't give me that melodramatic bull shit." Leon said, he could feel his anger boiling with every word the two exchanged. "It's because you're like that-"

"Like what?" Cloud exclaimed, just as angry with Leon, which only caused Leon to get angrier.

"Dramatic, loud, childish, clingy, annoying, THE LIST GOES ON AND ON!"

The locker room was completely silent after that. The two boys stood in the middle, staring each other down. Leon was breathing heavily, and Cloud's glare was faltering. He never could mask his feelings. Leon had hurt Cloud…again. He wanted to apologize, but his pride wouldn't let him.

Cloud sent one last wavering glare in Leon's direction before storming out of the room.

Leon blinked at the empty space. This was not how it was supposed to happen. Leon hurt Cloud feelings. Cloud was supposed to call him a 'self absorbed, cold hearted bastard' Then he'd reply with a simple "Fuck off", Cloud would come up with a smart ass, somewhat vulgar response…and everything would be okay again.

Leon scowled. He couldn't even logically explain why he was pissed. Cloud was allowed to have other friends. In fact, Cloud had lots and lots of friends. Everyone knew him because of his out there personality and friendly attitude. _Then why couldn't he ask one of his other friends? Why Tifa? Why a women who's so obviously throwing herself at him and only interested in one thing…stupid slut._

**_You're jealous._** A voice said in the back of his mind. He scowled. He could deny it all that he wanted to…but it wouldn't change the fact that it was true. Sure he complained about Cloud being loud and annoying when they drove home. Sure Cloud was loud and annoying when they drove home and he claimed he'd be glad to get rid of him. But Cloud had always ridden in his car. Cloud had always been with him. What right did this woman have to drive him home?

The sheer pathetic ness of that caused his scowl to deepen. _Let him drive home with whoever he wants. He could walk for all I care. I'm not his personal chauffer_. And with that he too stormed out of the locker room.

>>>

"Oh yes, me and Sora have been dating for over two weeks. I'm so…glab?"

"Glad." Aerith corrected.

"Oh." Yuffie said squinting at the paper. "I'm so _glad_."

Sora sighed, "Memorize that by tonight! It's important that everything goes smoothly. It can't sound rehearsed either."

"What can't sound rehearsed?" Riku asked as he sat beside Sora.

Caught off guard, the brunette did the normal thing when one is surprised.

He screamed…then he ran.

Yuffie and Aerith looked from Sora, to Riku and then to each other.

They jumped when they heard Riku slam his hands on the table in frustration. Then he did the normal thing one does when being run from.

He gave chase.

"This can't be good." Aerith said turning to Yuffie.

Yuffie shrugged rustling her script, which covered everything she was saying to Sora's mom tonight. "I'm so happy, I hope we're together…flavor?"

Aerith sighed grabbing the papers from Yuffie. "_Forever_ Yuffie, I hope we're together _forever_."

Yuffie scowled. "Whatever, this script is gay anyway."

Aerith glared at her.

"Oh no offense to Sora of course." She said rolling her eyes.

>>>

Sora gulped as he realized he had reached a dead end.

"Sora."

The said boy cringed as he heard his name being called from the opposite direction. Slowly he turned to find Riku blocking his only exit. "H-hello Riku." Sora said nervously.

"Why are you avoiding me Sora?" Riku asked, unable to keep the hurt and confusion out of his voice.

"A-avoiding you? Me? Avoiding you? I'm n-not avoiding you." He said as he simultaneously backed up when Riku stepped forward.

"Why are you running from me then?" he asked.

Sora attempted to back up and collided with the wall. He inwardly cursed his sense of direction as Riku stepped in front of him.

His eyes were alight with hurt, anger, frustration and confusion. "Just tell me what I did wrong!" he exclaimed

Sora's heart sank into his stomach. _I'm a horrible person…I don't deserve Riku…I don't. _His eyes filled with tears as he thought of how much he was hurting Riku…the person who meant most to him.

Riku's eyes widened as Sora grabbed him fiercely by the shoulders, before wrapping his arms around him in a warm hug. He felt warm tear drops on his collarbone where Sora had buried his head.

"I'm Sorry." Sora whispered so lightly it was barely audible. "I'm really, _really_ sorry."

>>>

"So…do you guys all agree with the team I chose?" Cid asked looking up from his paperwork. He had always wished for peace and quiet, but now that it was here, he was mortified.

Leon sat in the corner, staring out the window occasionally throwing looks at Cloud when no one was looking and Cloud was sitting in a chair quietly.

Cid got up from his desk and walked to the window. Nope, no giant meteors hovering above the school promising their painful demise.

Cid looked back at Cloud to make sure he wasn't going senile. Cloud…yes _that_ Cloud was actually _sitting_ in a _chair_ of his own free will, and he was being _quiet_ he was willingly not saying anything…and no one had threatened him with death yet.

"What the fuck is wrong with you two?" Cid exclaimed. "Why the hell are you just sitting there? You should be hopping around spouting bullshit like a fool, and YOU!" he said turning to Leon. "You should be yellin' at him for bein' an idiot!"

Leon and Cloud blinked.

"You're angry…because we're quiet." Cloud asked raising an eyebrow.

"Yes!" Cid exclaimed.

"So…you _want_ us to make noise and annoy you?" Leon asked very, very slowly.

"YES! Wait…no! Yes! No!"

Cloud and Leon exchanged 'wtf?' looks before realizing they weren't on speaking terms and quickly turning away.

"Just read the damn list!" Cid exclaimed, hurling the clipboard at the two.

>>>

"Have you bought your pantyhose yet?" Seifer said as he walked into the gymnasium where the hopeful Blitzball players waited nervously, his snickering posse following behind him.

Rikku squeezed his shoulder comfortingly. "Don't listen to him. You did great Sora."

"Yea! There's no way you couldn't have made the team." Zell said nodding enthusiastically as he sat down beside Rikku.

Sora smiled thankfully, his heart jumping into his throat as the door to Cid's office opened revealing the coach himself, along with the two unusually quiet (even for Leon) captains.

"OKAY!" Cid said clapping his hands together. "Let's get this show on the road!"

"I just want you all to know that I thought all of you were excellent," Cloud said, "and I had no part in cutting anyone. So all complaints, violent outbursts and death threats shall be directed towards Leon and Cid…not me." Leon glared at the blonde and Cid punch him on the arm, causing him to stagger backwards.

"Anyway, the new additions to the Blitzball team are." Cid said pausing for dramatic effect.

Leon rolled his eyes. "Zell Dincht and Zidane Tribal."

Cid glared at Leon. "I'm supposed to say that!"

"Whatever, I said it already." Leon said flipping his hair out of his face.

"YES!" Zidane exclaimed jumping up excitedly, but stopped as he realized the other name that had been called…had not been Sora.

Zell's smirk faded as Seifer's victory cry filled the stadium. Sora had to swallow to keep his heart in his throat.

"FINE THEN! JUST TELL THEM WHO THE TOWEL BOY IS THEN!" Leon yelled.

The others had been so busy with their own business they haven't noticed the two arguing.

"No…I don't want to anymore." Cid said folding his arms across his chest.

Leon scowled. "Fine then. Towel boy will be-"

"Towel boy is Sora!" Cid exclaimed cutting him off.

"Ha ha ha ha ha ! Better shave those legs towel boy!" Irvine said as Seifer's posse burst into laughter.

Sora glared at him. _I can't believe it…I…**lost**?_

"Not so fast!" Rikku exclaimed. Zell nodded.

"He's something pertaining to the team…so Sora didn't really lose!" Zell exclaimed.

"Ooh! Loophole! Loophole!" Cloud sang as he floated around Seifer and his friends.

"I don't think so! Towel boy isn't even _necessary._" Seifer said.

"Actually." Leon said. "Page three, article 4 line six of the Hikari high Blitzball handbook."

The whole arena was quiet as its occupants searched their brains for information they've never acquired.

"Each team must consist of eight members. One goalie, two defenders, two offense's, …and one personal assistant." Cloud recited.

"WHAT!" Seifer exclaimed. "You're lying! I won."

"Would you like to settle this Coach?" Rikku asked.

Cid smirked, "Oh, I have the _perfect _idea."

Sora looked at him confused, Seifer glared expectantly.

"Well…technically. Sora made the team….but then again…he didn't. Since the bet didn't specify that he had to make the team in the sense that he was playing, Sora didn't lose."

"Yes!" Zell and Rikku exclaimed slapping hands.

Irvine was about to protest but Cid held up his hands.

"I'm not saying he's the winner either."

"ha!" Irvine exclaimed. "Wait…what the hell does that mean!"

"It means neither lost nor one. _Both_ of your sorry Asses will be prancing around in girl's uniforms…but only for the team picture day. Not for the whole week."

Applause and cheering erupted in the arena.

"You can't do this!" Seifer exclaimed.

Cid smiled turning to walk back into his office. "Watch me."

>>>

Sora lay on the grass outside the arena alongside Zell, Rikku, Cloud and Leon.

"See, I told you everything would work out fine. You may have to wear the girls uniform…but Seifer does too!" Zell said obviously enjoying Seifer's downfall.

"Hm…" Sora said. "_Towel Boy_…not the most glamorous place on the team…but a place no less."

"Yea…I can't believe you guys know the code like that! I haven't even _opened_ that book." Rikku said

"Me neither." Cloud said just as Leon replied with a simple.

"We don't."

"Huh?" Zell asked scratching his head in confusion.

"I made up that whole article whatever crap." Leon said dismissively.

"And I just made that other crap up." Cloud said.

Sora, Zell and Rikku stared at them in shock.

"You guys…are…so…COOL!" Rikku exclaimed tackling Cloud in a hug.

A car pulled up, blaring its horn rather loudly at the sight. Sora recognized it as the one he had mistaken for Yuffie's the night before. He also remembered from Riku…and that the dinner was tonight. His stomach did a flip at the thought.

"Well…there goes my ride…see you guys Monday." Cloud said gently pushing Rikku off and getting up.

"Why don't you use your own car?" Rikku asked.

"I'm rebelling. My old man bought me that car, thus I refuse to use it." Cloud said with a smile. "Later!"

"Won't want to keep your precious Tifa waiting." Leon spat standing up.

"Fuck you." Cloud said before jogging across the street.

"…Whatever." Leon said walking to his own car, leaving three very confused teens in his wake.

>

_A/N: OK…Not many reviews for last chapter…TT…but I did get some…so thank you to those who did…I can't get greedy now, can I? So…yea…this chapter has more to it…but I decided to give "The dinner" it's own chapter…since this one is kind of dragging…and my but is numb… hee hee…too much information? Well…thanks for reading…hope you enjoyed…and please review! It'll make me put up the next chapter faster…and believe me…you want me to put the next chapter up quickly…LOTS AND LOTS OF DRAMA! Lol…well…until next time…_

_**Scarlet**_

_**Stained**_

**_Dreams_**


	12. The Dinner

_**Beautiful Disaster**_

_**By: ScarletDreams **_

_**Disclaimer: All characters, most places things etc. belong to Square-Enix and Disney…or whatever, I don't own anything…so…don't sue me ok?** _

_/There's a tear in my heart where the blood ran out.  
There's a tear in my heart where the love ran out.  
I thought we worked, pushed toward the same ends;  
I'll never be so quick to trust again.  
Disenchanted, disgusted, I regret that I trusted.  
I put my faith./_

**Chapter Thirteen**

_The Dinner_

"Ooh I'm so excited!" Emmy exclaimed as she set the table.

Sora sat on the counter, hyperventilating into a paper bag. "Mom, you put out four plates."

"I know!" She said happily as she bounced around the room. She was excited, _very _excited, which only made Sora feel uneasier. The doorbell rang and she smiled widely. Sora buried his head in the paper bag. _I wonder how long it takes to suffocate_ he thought, in the hopes that he'd be able to do it before his mother told him to get the door.

"Don't just sit there! Let your girlfriend in!"

Sora cringed before reluctantly hopping off the counter. He crumpled up the paper bag, tossing it into the wastebasket on his way to the door.

"Hiya Sora!" Yuffie exclaimed as he opened the door.

"You're awfully happy," Sora mumbled somewhat bitterly.

Yuffie nodded as she handed Sora her jacket. "I figured, however this ends up, it'll be interesting, with absolutely no risk of harm to me!"

Sora scowled as he slammed the door behind her, causing his mother to peak in through the kitchen. "Lucky you."

>>>

"So…how long have you been seeing Sora exactly?" Emmy asked as she stirred something on the stove.

"Sora and I have been dating for two weeks. I'm so glad." Yuffie said sounding very much like she was reading a script. Sora noticed she was staring straight ahead, at the kitchen window.

Sora followed her gaze, mentally slapping her forehead as he saw Aerith standing on something, holding up large pieces of oak tag, with Yuffie's lines written on them in big, black letters. She was dressed all in black in a pathetic attempt at camouflage (the sun hadn't even set yet) and she caught his gaze on her, smiling as she flashed him the peace sign.

Sora glared at Yuffie who winked at him, as if this was the greatest idea ever.

Emmy stopped stirring, hopping on the counter so she was sitting alongside Yuffie. "Two weeks huh?" She said rubbing her chin. She leaned in and said in a soft voice. "You're not having sex are you?"

Yuffie turned quickly to Aerith who was currently fumbling through the cards for her next cue. When she found none corresponding to that question she threw the cards on the ground and mouthed the words '_Wing it'_ to her apologetically.

"MOM!" Sora exclaimed wide-eyed.

"What?" Emmy asked. "Can't your own mother know anything about you anymore?"

"Come on mom! That question is insane!"

"No it's not, I want grandchildren."

"Mom…I'm sixteen." Sora said exasperated

"No I'm not…your forty two." Emmy said looking at Sora as if he was insane.

"No I'm not…your forty two."

Emmy slapped him in the back of the head. "NEVER say a women's age!"

Sora rolled his eyes, sniffing the air as an unpleasant smell passed under his nose. "Does anyone else smell that?" He asked his vision obscuring as a cloud of black smoke filled the kitchen. The pan on the stove lit up, it's contents catching on fire.

"I think something's burning." Yuffie said calmly.

"WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST CLUE!" Sora exclaimed lunging for the stove, he quickly turned it off and put out the fire with a wet dishtowel.

Silence filled the kitchen as the smoke disappeared.

"You're lucky that towel didn't catch on fire." Emmy said after several moments.

Sora banged his head against the wall.

Yuffie poked at the unidentifiable object in the pan. "I don't think this is edible."

Emmy walked over to the stove and joined in the poking. "Nope, definitely not eatable."

"Edible." Sora corrected

"Same difference." She said waving her hand in the air, "No matter, we can always order pizza."

Sora sighed. "Again."

>>>

Yuffie returned from outside, slipping into the kitchen and whispering to Sora. "I sent Aerith home…I don't know my lines!"

"Just make stuff up as we go along!" Sora said throwing a side-glance at his mother as she hung up the phone.

"10 minutes or it's free!" she said happily.

Just then, the doorbell rang.

"That was fast." Yuffie said blinking.

Sora's stomach growled loudly, it wasn't until that moment did he realize how hungry he was. "I'll get it." He said, jogging to the door. He grabbed some money off the shelf and carelessly threw open the door. He gasped at what he saw, dropping the money on the floor.

There, standing in his doorway, smiling the super sexy smile Riku saved just to him, completely oblivious to the steps Sora had taken to make sure that he would not be there. Any other night Sora would have been ecstatic, and probably would've tackled the boy to the ground, but tonight he wanted to cry.

"Sora I'm late," Riku said casually, "I was held up with things at home."

"Soooraaaaa! Just give him the money so we can ea-"Yuffie stopped in the doorway, her jaw hitting the ground in surprise. "Oh. Shit."

"Sora Honey! Don't be rude! Let him in!" Emmy said stepping into the living room.

Sora stepped to the side robotically, eyes wide, mouth still open in shock. Riku entered the house hesitantly, looking at Sora confused.

"You must be Riku! The nice boy I talked to on the phone!" Emmy said shaking his hand. "Oh I hope you don't mind me inviting him…I wanted to meet your friends." She said to Sora.

Riku raised an eyebrow. _Friends? Didn't Sora tell her…_

Sora nodded. He couldn't speak and he was shaking.

"Uhm, are you feeling okay?" Riku asked.

Sora forced a smile, with great effort, nodding stiffly.

"Uh…the door was open…and the money was…Uh…I'm going to…go…now." The pizza man said as he placed the pizza on the doorstep, inching away from the confusing scene.

>>>

"Then there was this one time! Sora took all his clothes off in the bread aisle, and took a bite out of every single loaf!" She exclaimed laughing "Ah ha ha….ha…ha?"

She stopped laughing, realizing no one was paying attention to her.

Riku was throwing confused glances at Sora and Yuffie. Sora poked at his pizza, deliberately averting Riku's gaze and Yuffie did the same, making the motion as if she was biting her pizza but she kept missing, and didn't seem to notice.

Emmy placed her hands on either side of her plate. "Ok…what exactly is going on here?" she asked sternly.

"That's _exactly_ what I'd like to know." Riku said.

Sora and Yuffie looked up at the two.

"Erm…uh…well…" Sora began.

"It wasn't my idea!" Yuffie exclaimed

"YUFFIE!" Sora exclaimed.

Yuffie shrugged. "I just…thought I'd put that out there. Just incase…heh heh…I'll shut up now."

Riku narrowed his eyes. He looked from Sora, to his mom, to Yuffie. "Oh…" he said quietly. "I get it." He stood up. "Sorry for interrupting." He spat heading for the door.

"Riku wait!" Sora exclaimed jumping up.

"Thank you for inviting me," Riku said to his mother. "But…I just remembered, I have something to do."

The door slammed shut behind him.

"Riku!" Sora exclaimed as he ran after him.

Yuffie laughed nervously as she realized she was alone with a confused, possibly angry mother.

"Someone want to explain that to me?" Emmy asked.

"Erm…uh…" Yuffie looked around for support. The clock ticked away. "Oh well would you look at the time!" She exclaimed. "I'm out past curfew! Gotta go! Bye! Thanks for the pizza!"

She all but flew out the door, leaving Emmy in an empty kitchen.

>>>

Sora sighed in relief when he saw Riku standing in front of his house. "Riku!" he exclaimed jogging over to him.

"Sora and me have been dating for two weeks…I'm so glad." Riku read off the oak tag Aerith had forgotten to pick up.

"Riku…" Sora said pausing in front of him. "It's not what you think."

"So you didn't lie to me? You did tell your mother about us and you didn't pretend to be dating Yuffie so you wouldn't have to admit that you're dating a guy?"

_'Ok…so it's exactly what he thinks…'_ Sora thought nervously.

Riku shook his head, tossing the oak tag to the floor. He gave Sora withering look full of disappointment, sadness, and betrayal. All the things that Sora never wanted to make him feel.

He climbed in his car and drove away. Sora couldn't bring himself to move, he just stood there, watching Riku drive off, and thinking how everything that could have gone wrong, did.

>>>

Riku sped quickly down the streets of Traverse Town. He drove without regard for anything, signs, lights, and people. Horns blazed, fists shook and curses flew but he ignored them all. Knuckles turning white under the force he was gripping the steering wheel with. His eyes were glazed and distant as he stared straight ahead of him, pulling into the driveway of his house in record time. He took a deep breath, resting his head on the steering wheel, his leg tapping unconsciously as he rocked slightly. Sora had lied to him…so many times. Riku had believed him so easily. He trusted him…he opened up his heart to him only to get it thrown back at him ungratefully. He wouldn't let people hurt him anymore. He wouldn't give _anyone_ that chance.

>

_A/N: Sorry the update took so long! I've been really busy with school and haven't had a second to myself. Thanks to all who reviewed the last chapter! I really appreciated it. I hope you enjoyed the chapter…don't forget to review! I'll update as soon as I can. _


	13. Repercussions

_**Beautiful Disaster**_

_**By: ScarletDreams **_

**_Disclaimer: All characters, most places things etc. belong to Square-Enix and Disney…or whatever, I _don't own anything…so…don't sue me ok?**

_/Its not all right,  
it's our last night together  
I won't give up; I can't let go, of you.  
I can't let go of you./_

**Chapter Fourteen**

_Repercussions_

"Sora…are you alright?"

Sora rolled over so he was facing his wall. Refusing to answer his mother for the millionth time that morning. It wasn't that he didn't want to, more of that he didn't know what to say. All the preparations for nothing, and even though he suspected how things would go if everything went wrong, now that everything had went wrong he didn't know how to act.

He owed so many people so many things. Kind of like those gangsters in the mob movies on the run from Loan sharks. Except money was much easier to come up with then the truth…Sora would rather owe money. If you needed money, you could work for it or beg your parents. But how could you come up with the truth?

"I'll be downstairs when you're ready to talk." She said

The truth was, Sora didn't know the truth. _But…I know that I don't know the truth…that in itself is a truth. Then me not knowing the truth…is actually the truth. Me not knowing the truth being a truth means that I actually do know the truth, which is that I don't know the truth. And if me not knowing the truth is a truth, and I say I don't know the truth, which is the truth, means that the truth is actually a lie? But…if the truth is a lie…and a lie is the truth, how am I supposed to separate fabrication from reality in order to give Riku the whole truth…, which is actually…a complete lie?_

He sighed in frustration banging his head against the wall. "Stop thinking! Bad brain! Stop!" he said. Obviously thinking was only making his headache bigger and confusing himself (and the author) even more. He sat up. The only thing he could do was go to Riku and tell him the whole story. No lies, no sugar coating just exactly what happened and why.

He pulled on a pair of crumpled jeans that lay at the foot of his bed and some sneakers that were under them. Running a hand through his wild cinnamon hair as he ran down the stairs.

"Sora where are you going?" his mother exclaimed from the living room.

"I'm going to get this straightened out." He said softly as he closed the door behind him.

>>>

The wind blew fiercely, rattling the leaves on the trees. The sun filtered through the reddish gold leaves leaving tiny patterns of light on the sidewalks. Several children laughed as they tried to catch the dancing light that the wind blew too and fro.

Sora rubbed his hands up and down his arms. In his rush he had forgotten his jacket, and now he was paying for it. It did little to stop his search though as he pressed on, frowning as he past the shops. He stopped in front of the store that he was looking for. "Mickey's Art Supply" was written in large black letters above the roof.

He had remembered Riku telling him that this was where he worked part time. Sora didn't want to go in. He was pretty sure there would be a scene, and he didn't want to be the cause of Riku loosing his job.

He sat down on a bench a few feet away from the store, content to sit and wait until Riku got off.

It was two hours later that Riku emerged from the doors. He looked exhausted, and his normal aura of confidence had disappeared, leaving in its place a very intense "stay away from me" vibe.

Sora could not stop the smile from spreading on his face at the mere sight of the boy. "Riku!" he called jumping from his seat and waving.

The said boy turned around rolling his eyes as he saw Sora. "Go home." He said continuing to walk to his car.

The smile dropped from Sora's face as he realized Riku wasn't ready to forgive him just yet. "Riku wait!" he exclaimed, jogging to catch up with the boy. "I can explain."

Riku stopped abruptly, turning to face Sora. "Oh can you? Go ahead then, I got to hear this."

Sora stared, dumbfounded. He expected he'd have to do some begging and pleading to get Riku to listen…maybe throw himself in front of his car so he couldn't drive. He'd never expected the boy to just _listen _to him like that.

Riku shook his head, mistaking Sora's surprise for trying to come up with an excuse. "Yea, I thought so." He said walking to his car and opening the door.

Sora ran to the car, grabbing the open window with both hands. "What was I supposed to do? She was going on and on about the girl I liked, the girl I was dating, the girl the girl the _girl_!" he said, his voice raised, practically hysterical. It dawned on him that this could be the end. One stupid mistake and Riku was ready to end it.

"You should've corrected her." Riku said calmly. He stared straight ahead, but when he turned to Sora his eyes were just as hysterical as Sora was.

"I couldn't." Sora said softly. He banged his hands on the door, "Why can't you understand? She was so excited, I couldn't disappoint her!"

"You couldn't disappoint her by being who you are?" Riku yelled.

People were staring now. They stopped what they were doing, paused mid sentence as there eyes wandered over to the two boys, wondering what kind of juicy story they could get out of this.

"Who I am isn't who she wants me to be." Sora said quietly, hands sliding from the door to hang limply at his sides.

"Well you can't change that can you?" he exclaimed. The volume and anger in his voice made Sora flinch. But as quickly as it came, it was gone. He gathered hold of his emotions, narrowing his eyes at the obviously hurting Sora. "Oh wait…that's right. You can always lie." He was calm again. So calm it would've hurt Sora less if he would've yelled and screamed.

With out a word Sora stepped away from the car, head hung in defeat. Riku quickly drove away, tires screeching on the ground as he applied a little to much force to the pedal.

Sora cried out in anger, releasing it on the thing nearest to him. He kicked the tree, over and over until a pile of bark chips surrounded him. He caught sight of the people staring and scowled at them. "WHAT ARE YOU STARING AT!" he screamed angrily, causing them all to look away and begin what they were doing again. "What are you…staring…" he hung his head in defeat sniffing once before running back the way he had came.

>>>

"Sora, someone's here to see you," his mother called from the living room.

The boy sat up quickly from his bed. Upon returning home he immediately returned to the position he woke up in, not even bothering to take off his shoes as he dropped onto the bed. His mother had not asked any questions, just smiled at him, welcoming him back as he slowly trudged up the stairs, head still bowed in shame and disgust. Her being understanding did not ease Sora's conscience.

_Riku?_ He thought hopefully, jumping up from the bed. He passed the mirror, running back to quickly run a hand through his hair and smoothed his eyebrows out before dashing down the stairs. His socks caused him to slide on the wood as he hurried into the living room only to see not Riku, but Cloud sitting on his couch.

His disappointment must have shown because Cloud raised an eyebrow as Sora stood before him. "Don't look so happy to see me." The blonde said in a voice that sounded more amused that offended.

Sora waved his hand in the air to signify that it was nothing. "I'm just having a really bad day."

"I thought Saturday was your best day?" Cloud said leaning his elbow on the couch and resting his chin in his palm.

Sora shrugged. _Eh, things happen_. At least that's what he tried to say. The silence of the house, his mother upstairs I her room doing paperwork. Cloud sitting there looking so attentive, and for once, calm. The disappointment picking away at the remnants of his conscience. It was inevitable that as soon as Sora opened his mouth, everything would come pouring out.

And it did.

"…"

"Say something!" Sora practically begged.

"Wow…" Cloud said running a hand through his untamable blonde spikes. He locked eyes with Sora's hopeless ones and sighed deeply. "I really wish I could tell you what to do Sora…but I can't. I'm not to good with this sort of thing. Aerith is though…hm…what would Aerith say? Hm…"

Sora looked up hopefully.

"Squall would probably say, 'It's pointless to ask other people to solve your problems,' or 'Go talk to a wall'…but he's an asshole…so lets not listen to him."

Sora laughed, realizing he had completely tuned Cloud out…you learned to do that after hanging out with him for a while. Cloud continued to ramble for a while.

Sora smiled. "Thanks Cloud, I don't need you to hurt yourself trying to think up solutions to my problems."

The blonde grinned. "Yea…I can get offended by that…but I won't."

They sat in silence for a while. Cloud listening did help Sora a little, but he still felt terrible.

"Oh yea! The reason I came, I was in the neighborhood and decided to stop by to let you know that you have to report to Blitzball practice Monday afternoon."

Sora nodded, "I'll be there."

"Well, I guess I'll be going now." Cloud said standing up.

Sora rose to walk him to the door.

Cloud exited but stopped, turning around to face Sora. "I may not know exactly how to make this better…but I do know one thing Sora. Don't ever give the people you care about a reason to loose faith in you. Never loose faith in them either. You have friends to share things with…so don't keep everything inside." He said quietly. He smiled, but this one was a sad smile. It was defiantly _not_ a Cloud smile…and it took Sora by surprise, he could never imagine _Cloud_ being _sad._ But as soon as the look came, it was gone.

'Unless of course you wanna become a cold mean icy prick like Leon." He said with a scowl, before turning around and jogging up the block.

Sora sighed, taking a few deep breaths. He knew what he had to do.

He closed the door, locking it behind him. Taking his time as he walked up the stairs. He walked them one by one, anything to delay what he was about to do.

He reached the second floor, turning to his mother's door. Taking another deep breath he gently rapped it with his knuckles.

"Come in." Emmy called from inside.

_Inhale._

Sure enough she sat on the bed, papers and folders scattered around her.

"Mom, we need to talk."

_Exhale_

She smile softly, moving the papers to the side and patting a space on the bed for Sora to sit down. He took the seat, hangs trembling.

_Inhale_

"Mom, Yuffie's…not my girlfriend."

Emmy smiled. "I figured that. Don't let that upset you, there are plenty of other gi-"

"Yuffie is not my girlfriend. She never will be and neither will any other girl."

_Exhale_

Emmy looked at him quizzically.

"The truth is…I'm gay."

>

_A/N: Sorry for the delay! School, and after school, and homework, and sports and friends and boyfriends actually take up more time than I thought they would. I hardly have any moments to myself anymore. Well…there's no school tomorrow…so hopefully I can type up some more. Thanks to all that reviewed last time. Thanks for reading, and Please Review!_


	14. Action and Reaction

_**Beautiful Disaster**_

_**By: ScarletDreams **_

**_Disclaimer: All characters, most places things etc. belong to Square-Enix and Disney…or whatever, I _don't own anything…so…don't sue me ok?**

**Chapter Fifteen**

**Action and Reaction**

"_Yuffie is not my girlfriend. She never will be and neither will any other girl."_

_Emmy looked at him quizzically._

"_The truth is…I'm gay."_

Emmy blinked. "G-_Gay_?" She coughed.

Suddenly Sora felt extremely self-conscience. He pulled at the ends of his shorts and blew a stray piece of hair out of his eyes. He nodded. "Yes. I'm gay…and Riku's my boyfriend." He said in a tiny voice. For the first time in his life he was terrified. Terrified oh her reaction, what she'd think of him. Would she be disappointed? Would she kick him out? Would she say nothing but silently hate him. He shook his head. His mother was always happy and talking way too much, now that she was silent he didn't know what to think.

"Gay…and Riku's your boyfriend…" She repeated absently.

"Or was my boyfriend, I kind of screwed things up."

Emmy opened her mouth to say something but stopped, blinking again.

Sora blushed, playing with his hands.

"You didn't want me to know…so you got Yuffie to…" she said, thinking out loud. Emmy looked up, eyes locking on Sora's. "And I screwed things up by inviting Riku."

Sora shrugged. "It's not your fault. I should've told you in the first place. I just…couldn't."

Emmy sighed moving closer to Sora and grabbing his hands. "Why?"

"You just seemed so set on me finding a girl that I liked…I thought I'd disappoint you."

"Well, your right about one thing. You shouldn't have lied. I shouldn't have automatically assumed you were into girls either. We all make mistakes. Guess we know for next time right?"

Sora looked up surprised. "You…don't mind?"

Emmy smiled. "Of course not! Surprised, yea. But you're my son. Nothing's going to change that."

Sora beamed. Overwhelmed with the sheer relief of overcoming one of his many obstacles.

"So." She said, crossing her legs under her and smiling excitedly. "Tell me about Riku!"

Sora's smile immediately widened. "He's gorgeous, nice…talented, oh mom he's _really_ talented! You should see his drawings…" Sora trailed off as he remembered the events of earlier that day. "I've also learned that he doesn't like to say what's bothering him and he doesn't forgive that easily." Sora sighed. "It's probably all over now."

"Do you want it to be all over?" Emmy asked

Sora shook his head. "No! Of course not! We were just getting started."

Emmy smiled, getting a dreamy look in her eyes. "Then don't let it."

>>>

"Good morning Sora! You're here early today!" Aerith exclaimed from her place at the breakfast table, where Yuffie and Cloud looked up at him confused. They glanced at the clock. Seven am…seven am…and Sora was _at school_?

"Are you ok?" they both asked in unison.

Sora smiled. "Yea…erm…do any of you know where Riku is?"

"He's where he always is when he's not with you." Yuffie said. "The art room."

Sora nodded, "I'll talk to you guys later." He said before heading towards the school.

The halls were quiet for once, and the lack of students made it seem much longer than it was. He quickened his pace, a little nervous being in the halls alone. He hurried, up the stairs, to the left, up the stairs straight. Just like Riku had shown him.

He passed some more lockers. "Hi Leon!" he exclaimed as he spotted the brunette slamming his door closed.

Leon looked up, nodding before beginning to walk away. "There's practice this afternoon." He said when he walked passed him.

"Yea I know, Cloud told me." Sora said

Leon grunted. "Cloud." He spat under his breath.

Sora stopped. "Are you guys…okay?"

Leon narrowed his eyes, "Why do you ask?"

Sora shrugged, "It's just…you two are usually together…"

Leon snorted. "You lookin' for Cloud, go ask Tifa." He mumbled before quickly walking away.

>>>

Sora paused outside the doors to the art room. He had never been in here before; even though he had long since learned it was Riku's favorite place. The room was full of easels, full but not cluttered. In the back was a long high table, covered with drying paintings, unfinished sketches and hardening models. Sinks ran along the back of the room. Several students had recently finished working on sun catchers, and they hung in the windows, reflecting the cool autumn light on the walls, floor and easels. The scent of acrylic and incense hung in the air, giving it a homey feel. It was no wonder Riku loved it here.

He stepped in slowly. The room was empty, save for a single silver haired artist, sitting in front of an easel at the front of the room. A short stand stood beside the easel with Riku's sketchbook propped on it.

"Hey," Sora said putting his hand on Riku's shoulder.

Riku shook the hand off him, his painting strokes becoming hard and forced.

Sora sighed dejectedly, looking at the canvas. It was the picture Riku had been drawing in the courtyard that day, one of the first times he'd actually talked to him. Only this one was bigger, and in color. "It looks even better on canvas." Sora said quietly.

Riku merely grunted.

Sora's eye twitched. He was sick of this. One mistake. One _stupid_ mistake! Riku wouldn't even hear him out. Things like this were supposed to make relationships stronger right? Not end them. "Will you just listen to what I have to say!" Sora exclaimed frustrated.

"We tried that remember." Riku said disinterestedly.

Sora growled quickly grabbing the brush from Riku as he dipped it into the black paint.

Riku narrowed his eyes, turning to the boy. "Give me back my brush Sora." He said coldly, his voice ice and his eyes fire.

Sora gulped, ignoring the impulse to run away. He shook his head. "No. Not until you listen to what I have to say."

Sora tried his best to not whimper as Riku stared coldly at him. For what seemed like hours Riku glared at him, and Sora put on his hard face, he wouldn't give up.

Riku seemed to realize this. His gaze softened and he easily slid the brush out of Sora's hands, placing it in the black. "Fine." Riku said moving his hair out of his eyes. "But not here."

Sora's face lit up. "So lets go somewhere!" he blurted, not thinking. It was better this way, him just going with impulse, not using his brain, seeing as how it seemed to get him into trouble (example, Friday night).

"Now?"

Sora nodded.

Riku raised an eyebrow. "What about school?"

Sora shrugged. "I'd say this is more important than first period."

>

_A/N: Heeeeey! Sorry this is so short. I've been having a good day and I felt bad about where I left it so I decided to type this up really quick and post it. Another update will be coming soon. Thanks to all who reviewed, Thanks to all who read! Please Review! Another Update should be up by Saturday at most. Thanks again!_


	15. Yesterdays Feelings

_**Beautiful Disaster**_

_**By: ScarletDreams **_

**_Disclaimer: All characters, most places things etc. belong to Square-Enix and Disney…or whatever, I _don't own anything…so…don't sue me ok?**

_/Now all those feelings,  
those yesterdays feelings will all be lost in time  
but today I've wasted away  
for today is on my mind/_

**Chapter Sixteen**

**Yesterdays Feelings**

Sora sighed, playing with his hands and stealing glances at the boy beside him every now and then. _Maybe this wasn't such a good idea_ he thought as he leaned back against the top of the bleacher.

The large arena was empty. Rows and Rows of bleachers surrounded the huge glass ball that they filled with water for Blitzball matches. It was empty now, save for a little bit of water on the bottom that slowly dripped out the open drain. The soft noise it made as it fell to the ground, barely audible in most cases, now reverberated through the silent stadium. It seemed deafening.

Sora cast a side-glance at Riku. The corner of his gaze met Riku's and he quickly looked away. Riku sighed, standing up.

"This is a waste of time." He said turning to leave.

"Wait!" Sora exclaimed, grabbing his hand in an attempt to make him stay. He knew very well the stronger boy could easily escape if he really wanted to, and Sora was afraid that he would.

Their eyes locked, dark blue battling a stormy aquamarine before the silver haired boy sighed, dropping back on to the bleachers. "Well…" he said, staring at Sora expectantly.

Sora broke his gaze. Staring idly at his hands. He never had any problem saying how he felt before. What made this time so different? _Riku does…that's what_.

He looked up only to find himself under Riku's impatient gaze. "Can you…stop looking at me?"

Riku snatched his hand away from Sora's. "What? I can't _look_ at you now?"

Sora groaned, already fearing where this was going. "No. I didn't mean that. You're just making me nervous."

"If I make you so _nervous_ why don't you-"

"Would you stop taking everything so negative!" Sora exclaimed slamming his hands on the bleacher, causing it to shake.

"Would you just say what you mean!" Riku retaliated venomously.

The silence surrounded them again. Sora blushed at his outburst, gaze once again returning to his hands, which he was beginning to get to know quite well. This wasn't going how Sora planned it at all. Riku was so…angry. Sure what he did was stupid, but wasn't Riku taking it a little overboard? He glanced at his boyfriend again. He was leaning against the back of the bleachers, glaring at the domed ceiling. He mentally cursed him for being so appealing without even trying. There was no doubt in Sora's mind that there was more to this than what he thought. _If only Riku would open up to me and just tell me._ He sighed. Riku wasn't that type of person. He kept all his troubles and thoughts to himself, unaware of how that affected those that cared for him. Maybe even unaware that there was people who cared for him. For some reason, the thought alone made Sora terribly sad.

"I told her." Sora said quietly. He looked up, meeting the other boys scrutinizing gaze. "My mom, I told her. About us."

Riku laughed dryly. "That's great. A little late, don't you think?"

Sora growled as his frustration level rose. It reached the top and easily overflowed. "I'M SORRY!" he exclaimed. "I'm new to this ok? All my life it's been one way, everything agreeing with everything else, and then all of a sudden it all changes. No warning, nothing it just changes! I'm not too sure how to deal with it okay! It was girl this and girl that…Girl, Girl, Girl, EVERYTHING WAS ABOUT A DAMN GIRL!"

Riku blinked, hardly moved by Sora's emotional outburst. This was just like Sora; he always said exactly what he felt. Whether it was appropriate or not. Even if he'd regret it later. He didn't think; just spoke straight from the heart. _If only I could do that_ he thought. It wasn't that he didn't want to forgive Sora. It was just hard. He had put all his trust in Sora, and Sora had _let him down_. Just like everyone else. "You could've corrected her."

Sora sighed. "I couldn't! She was so happy. I didn't want to disappoint her. It was stupid and dumb and I'm stupid and dumb and I shouldn't have done it but I've learned from my mistakes and I'm just really sorry and I just want you to say that it's ok." He stopped out of breath, not having breathed throughout his little outburst and stared desperately at Riku's face.

"I want to Sora. But, you really hurt me. If it bothers you so much that we're together maybe we shouldn't be-"

"NO!" Sora exclaimed, "It doesn't bother me! I could care less what other people think. I just…I don't want this to end. Not when it was going so well."

Riku looked at Sora. It was clear that he was hurting. In the month or so they had been dating Riku had learned that Sora was easy to please and easy to make happy. He was easy hurt, and easy to make sad as well. He was also quick to forgive and quick to help. He was carefree, young and innocent and everything about him was sincere. He didn't want to hurt Sora, not how he had been hurt. _He's really sorry. You know that. Give him another chance._ The smarter side of his conscience urged him, and for once, the dumb side. The one he usually listened to, the one that constantly got him into trouble, totally and completely agreed.

He smiled then, for the first time in ages. A smile that covered whatever words could never possibly hope to.

And Sora understood. His sad, pleading, almost puppy dog look turned into one of relieved joy as his own cheesy grin replaced his pout. He launched himself at Riku wrapping his arms around him in an awkward sort of hug and pressing his lips to the others for the first time in far too long.

>>>

"Ok…uhm. Stop."

Cloud let out a heavy sigh, look up to the ceiling as if asking what ever omniscient presence their with them for help, patience and a better Blitzball team. A stray ball flew over his head, hitting the hanging light in the back of the stadium.

Leon stood beside him, but not too close, hand raised to the bridge of his nose in annoyance and Cid stood to the corner, arms crossed in front of him.

"Tell me this," the coach said. "Did any of you bother to pick up a fucking Blitzball over the vacation?"

Silence. The newly assembled Blitzball team stood before him, throwing each other confused glances. A ball rolled on the floor.

Cid's anger boiled as the athletes in front of him continued to look at him with that confused look on their face. Heaven forbid they practiced _without _being told to. Gasp! The horror. He counted backwards from ten to try and suppress his anger.

"How about this, Rikku, you and Seifer work with Zidane on passing and catching the ball. Zell, you can work with Irvine doing the same thing." Cloud said

"What the hell? We're the Blitzball team not a bunch of first graders. Why do we have to do that?" Irvine asked annoyed.

"Because you play like shit that's why!" Cid exclaimed angrily. "You want to play Blitzball but you can't even get the basics down! Now you'll do what he said or you'll leave."

The team stood, staring dumbfounded.

"WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR!"

They sprang into action, grabbing balls and splitting into teams. Cid sighed. _This is gonna be a shit load of work_

He walked over to Cloud and Leon slapping both of them on the back. "You two work together."

The two boys glared at each other, the air surrounding them thick with tension. Cid sighed. "Oh for gods sake, Listen, I don't know what's going on between you two but whatever it is, leave it at the doors. You have a job to do." He moved away, walking towards his office, shouting a final "PRACTICE!" before slamming the door behind him.

The two boys glared at each other before Cloud kicked up a ball with his right foot, catching it in his hand and tossing it to Leon with way too much force for someone who was only about a foot away.

Leon caught it with an 'oof' stumbling back a bit. His eyes narrowed at the blonde as he through it back with an equal if not greater amount of force. It bounced of the area between Cloud's neck and shoulder before rolling away rolled away.

Cloud narrowed his eyes at the boy across from him. The area where the ball hit stung and was extremely red. Cloud quickly kicked up another ball and tossed it as hard as he could towards Leon. _Two can play this game_ he thought as it hit Leon on the left side of his face.

Leon's head jerked to the right. He ignored the pain and picked up the ball tossing it as hard as he could at Cloud who skidded back a bit coughing as the ball nailed him in the stomach.

Cid groaned banging his head on the glass window. _This is not what I had in mind. _

_>>>_

Sora hummed to himself as he folded the towels. It was freezing in the school washroom but folding thirty towels fresh out the dryer had warmed him up. He placed the piles neatly in the basket, holding it against his hip as he walked up the stairs. He quickly cleared the campus, pushing open the doors of the stadium.

"What the-" he called as he tripped over a ball, struggling to regain his footing before he went plummeting down the aisle. After successfully avoiding the painful fall he cautiously made his way to where the team was practicing earlier that day. They had long since left, that is all except for two.

The two captains slowly dropped to the floor, lying there exhausted. They were out of breath and bruised, surrounded by blitzballs, several of the extremely durable balls had somehow been damaged and deflated. _I don't want to know how that happened_ Sora thought to himself.

"Are you guys…alright?" he asked cautiously stepping around them. They nodded weakly, obviously devoid of all strength.

'O…K…' Sora mouthed carefully setting two towels on the bench before hurrying into the locker room.

Leon attempted to regain his regular breathing pattern. Everything ached. Cloud may have been an idiot but he had one hell of a throw. He looked over to Cloud who lay staring at the ceiling, chest rising up and down in labored breathing. Pieces of blonde hair were matted down to the side of his face and a light purple bruise peaked out from the collar of his gray t-shirt. Cloud looked at him out the corner of his eye, their gazes locking. Leon quickly looked away.

"Leon! Cloud! Get in here right now!"

Leon groaned. Getting to Cid required _movement _and he wasn't sure he had the energy to complete the 85 steps to Cid's Office.

Cloud jumped up on wobbly legs, limping over to the room. Leon sighed, slowly forcing himself up. How the blonde maintained all his energy he'd never know.

"What is it?" he said agitatedly, dropping into a chair.

Cid raised an eyebrow. The two boys looked as if they had just gotten into a huge fight, and lost horribly. "What the hell happened to you two?" he asked. He held up his hand, shaking his head. "You know what, I really don't want to know. Cloud. You have a car right?"

"Yea but I don't-"

"Good. I need you two to go to the business district to pick up the new uniforms."

"What about school?" Leon asked nonchalantly.

"What _about_ school? I got it covered." Cid replied.

Leon shook his head. Alone in a car with Cloud for four hours? "I won't do it."

Cloud looked from Leon to Cid. "Well…I won't do it either!" He exclaimed sounding like a four year old on the verge of tantrum.

Leon rolled his eyes and Cloud stuck out his tongue at him.

Cid chuckled to himself. "We'll see about that."

>

_A/N: I'm pretty late aren't I? Sorry? I was sick earlier this week and I've just been feeling so tired. But, I made it my goal to update today…and…tah dah! I am! Well, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Thanks for reading, stay tuned for the next chapter. Please review!_


	16. The Fix Is In

_**Beautiful Disaster**_

_**By: ScarletDreams **_

**_Disclaimer: All characters, most places things etc. belong to Square-Enix and Disney…or whatever, I _don't own anything…so…don't sue me ok?**

_/When we got to Boston,  
we knew we missed a turn.  
So lets go find a road side motel  
with a clerk who won't tell…/_

**Chapter Sixteen**

**The Fix Is In**

"Why am I here?" Cloud said to no one in particular. He stared at Leon through the window, hand cradling his chin. Cid may have gotten both of them to come but there was no way he was convincing Cloud to drive.

That didn't bother Leon at all. He'd much rather get to South Traverse and back without colliding with any objects, cars, people, or getting pulled over by the cops.

"Why are you speaking?" Leon asked rudely.

Cloud turned to glare at him. "Because I can."

Leon scowled. "Well don't."

"I can't hear you!" Cloud exclaimed sticking his fingers in his ears. "I'm not talking to you! La la la la la la la."

Leon's eye twitched, but never left the front of the road. _Don't argue with him…that's what he wants. Stay calm…calm…_ He envisioned the steering wheel, as Cloud's next and proceeded to trap it in his death grip. He was so preoccupied in strangling the steering wheel that he didn't notice the 'la'ing stop until he was enveloped in pure, sweet silence. He looked suspiciously at the blonde, who was currently staring out the window.

He sighed contently, loosening his grip on the unfortunate item. He enjoyed the silence, leaning back as they stopped because of the early morning traffic. They inched along slowly.

"Are we there yet?" Cloud asked bored.

Leon suppressed a growl. "No."

_Stay calm…don't yell…stay calm._

"Are we there now?" Cloud asked as they inched forward again.

_Calm…_ "What do you think?"

Cloud sighed returning his attention to the window.

The cars in front of him began driving and they were finally moving again.

"Now?"

Once again Leon killed the steering wheel. "Shut. Up."

"Now? Now? Now? Are we there now? How about now? Are we there? Huh? Are we there? Are we there yet? Now? Now? Now?" Cloud asked continually, inwardly smirking as he saw Leon's frustration level growing.

_Stay calm._ Leon took a deep breath, he was prepared for this. He'd known Cloud too well to not come with a secret weapon of his own. He reached over to the glove compartment and opened it, pulling out the one thing Cloud despised with every fiber of his being. The one thing that would force the blonde into becoming quiet and submissive. Two words that would make him sob. Country Music.

Leon opened the cover and pulled out the "_28 Best Loved Country Songs"_ c.d, putting it into the player and slowly raising the volume. A banjo introduction began and Cloud's eye's widened with realization. He threw Leon a desperate look.

_He wouldn't._ Cloud thought switching his gaze from Leon's smirking face to the c.d. player. The music came on and Cloud screamed. _He would._

Leon raised the volume to the top and Cloud cried out in pain. By this point in time Leon's smirk had reached a full-scale _smile_.

The music, plus stone cold Leon _smiling _proved too much for Cloud. "Okay…Okay! I'll shut up for the rest of the ride! Just SHUT OFF THAT DAMN NOISE!"

The thought of Cloud being silent for the two hours left of the drive was music enough for Leon, and out of the goodness of his heart, decided to turn off the radio. The silence that followed delighted the normally stoic faced brunette.

"Can you please stop smiling?" Cloud mumbled as he turned to face the window. "It's scary."

>>>

**"Would Sora Himura and Seifer Almasy please report to Coach Highwinds's office immediately."**

Riku looked up from the picture he was drawing over his math work to the loudspeaker and then to his boyfriend, who lay peacefully sleeping on his math book. He sighed poking the boy in the side with his pencil. The brunette pouted, wrinkling his nose, but did not stir from his slumber.

It was then, seeing how cute Sora looked, that a mischievous thought slowly crept into Riku's head. He smirked, looking around. The sat in the very back, no one really paying much attention to them. The teacher continued his lesson and the rest of the class was either struggling with the difficult problem or following Sora's example and using the heavy textbook as a pillow. The silver haired boy smiled, leaning towards Sora's ear. "Wake up." He said softly before lightly nipping the delicate flesh with his teeth, one of Sora's soft spots.

Sora yelped, jumping up and grabbing his earlobe. This was drowned out as the announcement came on again.

**"Once again, would Sora Himura and Seifer Almasy _please_ report to Coach Highwinds's office _immediately_." **

Sora frowned as he began to gather up his books. _What's this about?_ He looked to Riku, who had innocently returned to his math work, but couldn't hide the smirk that had made it's home on his face. Sora blushed, quickly hurrying out to hide it.

>>>

Namine's face reddened with anger and she tightened her grip on her pencil. It broke, a piece flying and hitting the girl in front of her. She spun around angrily only to bite her lip and turn around again when faced with the blondes angry glare.

Her eyes narrowed to slits as she mentally cursed Sora's retreating form. _When are those damn pictures going to be ready?_

_>>>_

Sora pushed open the doors to the Blitzball stadium, hurriedly crossing it to reach Cid's office.

The office was small, it fit a small desk and two chairs, a calendar hung on the back wall marked with the dates of the matches, the first one not less than three weeks away. There was a glass window that made it so he could see everything that was happening from his desk. Despite it's small size the office was packed with people. The whole Blitzball team had somehow managed to fit itself onto the two chairs. Seifer was leaning on the back wall, glaring at him and Cid was talking to two extremely confused women with tape measures hanging of their shoulders.

"You're telling me you want two uniforms, in less than two weeks, both for girls, but measured on guys?" the first women said confused and somewhat agitated.

Cid nodded, "I need them by the November.21." he was all seriousness but you could tell he was struggling with suppressed laughter.

The Blitzball team struggled as well, failing miserably.

"You want be girl?" the second, much older women asked walking to Seifer.

The laughter got louder.

Seifer glared at her, clutching his fists at his sides to prevent them from finding their way around the women's neck. "No I don't want to be a damn girl."

"He no want be girl! He no want, I no measure."

"Just say you want to so the women can get this over with." Cid said, voice cracking with suppressed laughter.

Seifer glared at him. He took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. "I want. To be. A girl." He said through clenched teeth.

The room was silent for a moment.

The chair where half the Blitzball team sat collapsed, sending them to the ground, rolling and cradling their stomachs as they laughed. The kind of laughter when you just sort of convulsed, appearing to be dying but no sound coming out. The rest simply through themselves of the chair, joining their friends on the floor.

The mighty Almasy admitting to aspirations of femininity proved too much for even Cid.

The women shrugged beginning to measure him.

Cid got himself under control, wiping a few limp tears from his eyes as he directed the woman to Sora.

"Everybody else get back to class, your teachers are going to kill-" he stopped, loosing control again as the woman wrapped a skirt around Seifer's waist.

>>>

"Riku, can I talk to you for a moment?"

Riku stopped his sketch, looking up into the face of Ms. Ariel, the art teacher and his mentor. She was the one who gave him the art scholarship, with money he was almost sure came out of her own pocket. She was a collector and an artist and one of the few adults he was comfortable around. "Sure…" he said putting down his pencil.

She smiled, sitting down beside him, trying to steal a look at his sketchbook. "What's this? A new picture?"

Riku blushed, quickly shutting the book. "It's…a work in progress."

"A gift for a special _someone_ perhaps?" she asked teasingly. She laughed at the embarrassed look on his face. The laughter faded away though and she sighed, twirling a strand of bright red hair between her fingers. "I was looking at your most recent painting. It's very good, you're adding it to you're portfolio no doubt?"

Riku nodded. The bell rang signaling the end of the day.

"Let me cut to the chase. I've noticed…a change in your art style. Subtle, but this last painting makes it very apparent. There's a new emotion added to the beautiful pallet of Riku."

Riku shrugged. "That painting was…in the middle of a lot of…stuff."

She turned serious again. "Is it…your father?"

Riku laughed then, a hollow sound. "What he did stopped bothering me along time ago. I can deal with these things now Ms. Ariel."

She sighed, cradling her chin in her hand. "I know I know. But just thinking about that man, he makes my blood boil. If he does anything, anything at all-"

"I know I know…you've told me this hundreds of times." Riku mumbled exasperated.

Ariel reached for his sketchbook, idly flipping through the pages. "Anyway. It's a good change, less melancholy. Sort of happy, content. Looking at it makes you feel whole." She stopped at his newest sketch, currently just a bunch of lines. That's how all his sketches started. He began with plain lines, and turned them into something beautiful. She had grown used to Riku's odd way of drawing, his paintings pulled you in and didn't let go. They made you feel, made you think. "There's an art contest in February, and another one in May. Cash prizes for both. You don't graduate for two more years, but I think it's good to start early. Don't you agree?"

Riku raised an eyebrow. "You want me to enter a contest?"

"The first prize is five thousand dollars for the first. The second contest is bigger, all the schools in the whole district, first prize gets ten thousand. These private school contests can get a little competitive though. You'll have to paint something extraordinary."

Riku laughed taking back his sketchbook and picking up his pencil. "I don't think that'll be problem."

Ariel laughed, punching his arm jokingly. "A little cocky aren't we?"

Riku smiled, a sight Ariel had not seen in a very long time. "It's not that. I just…I feel different. Like nothing I've ever felt before. Whenever I'm with him, all these ideas just start to come to me. It's…weird."

Ariel smiled, leaning over to his shoulder to see what he was drawing. "I'd like to meet this boy sometime," she said turning to leave.

Riku stopped what he was drawing, looking up confused. "You don't think it's weird?"

She paused, turning around to smile at him again. "Not in the least. I think you just might have found your muse."

>>>

Leon squinted. That was the eighth time he's seen the exact same strip of small wholesale shops. Either south traverse was lacking in originality, or they were lost. He sighed, throwing a quick look in the back seat. Four boxes were safely placed on the ground and in the front seat Cloud sat sleeping using the fifth one as a pillow.

He sighed. _You must really hate me huh?_He wasn't to sure why he got so angry, just because Cloud choose to ride home with Tifa. He did complain to Cloud all the time about him slowing him down. Telling him how annoying and loud he was. How idiotic and overly energetic. But, of all people, _Tifa_? Did he not see the way she threw herself at him?

He stopped at a red light, turning again to look at the blonde beside him. _Of course he doesn't_. Cloud was…_Cloud_. He didn't think about things like that. He gave everyone second chances, treated everyone the same. Except for Leon of course. Cloud always clung to him, but it wasn't for his sake. Cloud could hold his own with his other friends just fine. It was, in all actuality, for Leon. Because if Cloud left, who would Leon have?

_How many chances did I screw up? How many do I have left?_

Cloud rolled over, and…purred? Leon almost laughed out loud, put caught himself before he did. Smiling as he looked over the blonde. What was it that he looked as he slept? Cute? Untouchable? Irresistible? But he was a _guy_. They both knew that. That was why he pushed Cloud away so.

A loud car horn startled Leon out of his stupor. The light had turned green sometime ago. He started the car again, driving in what he thought was the right direction.

Cloud sat up, awoken by the noise. He rubbed his eyes looking nothing short of adorable. "Weren't we here when I went to sleep?"

Leon grunted.

But Cloud, Cloud always had hope. Which is why he always came back, why he always tried so hard.

_But when will you get tired of me? _

"Why do you hate me?" Cloud asked suddenly, eyes intent on searching his hands.

Leon looked at him sideways, trying to look at Cloud and keep his eyes on the road at the same time. "I never exactly said that I did."

"You never said that you didn't either."

"It's just one of those things that needs no words."

"What, the fact that you hate me or the fact that you don't?" Cloud asked.

Leon didn't answer that. Just drove on. Intent on making his way back. _We're not lost_ he thought _Nope, Not lost, not lost at all_.

"When are you going to give up?" he asked quietly. When would Cloud realize that his efforts to make Leon more social, to get him involved, make him friends was all in vain? When would he realize that Leon just wasn't _worth_ his divine kindness, and move on.

Cloud sighed, leaning his chin in his hand. "I won't."

Leon sighed as they cleared a corner and passed the same strip of shops.

_We're so lost…_

_>>>_

"When are they getting here! It's been a half an hour already, some of us have things to do." Said one of the benchwarmers angrily. It was now four thirty and Cloud and Leon still hadn't shown up.

Rikku sighed. "He's right. As much as I hate to admit it."

"Well what are we supposed to do?" Zell asked from his place hanging upside down from the top bleacher.

"Cancel practice." Seifer said quietly.

"Cancel practice! Our first game is in a three weeks!" Irvine exclaimed.

"Well what do you suppose we do without Captains?" Seifer exclaimed angrily.

Rikku sighed. "He's right…Oh my God…did I just say that?" she buried her face in her hands, The Day Seifer Was Right would live on in history, most likely as the eve of the Apocalypse.

"So then…that settles it. If Cloud and Leon don't show up in fifteen minutes we all go home."

Rikku and Zell exchanged looks. It wasn't like Leon to be late.

>>>

_**Hi This is Namine! Leave a message!**_

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A/N: _Hee hee. Two updates in one weekend. I'm on a roll! I just…started typing…and ended up finishing it. I think this is the longest chapter yet. So many things going on at once, I hope I don't confuse anyone. Well, thanks for reading and please review! _


	17. Move Along

_**Beautiful Disaster**_

_**By: ScarletDreams **_

**_Disclaimer: All characters, most places things etc. belong to Square-Enix and Disney…or whatever, I _don't own anything…so…don't sue me ok?**

_/Drive all night  
Never gonna get me  
Night by night  
To get away from it all  
Fight fight fight  
All you wanna do is hurt me /_

**Chapter Eighteen**

**Move Along**

Sora shivered, teeth chattering as he pulled his new down coat closer to him. Everyone else was lounging around the campus with fleeces thrown absently over their navy blazers. He scowled as two boys actually _removed_ their outer jackets to play a game of catch. Were they not _freezing?_ Several girls passed by, giving Sora's jacket weird looks. He sighed. He was used to sunny days and ocean breezes, not wind that could knock you over and clouds blocking the sun ninety percent of the time.

It was hard to believe he had already been in school for almost three months. When he first started, he doubted he'd survive the first week. If his current self could go back to that boy standing in front of his mothers full length mirror and tell him that in two months time he'd have friends, be apart of a club, make an enemy, and get a boyfriend he probably would have died of laughter.

He smiled thinking of his boyfriend. He scanned the campus once more, taking in the scenery. A group of girls practiced cheers on one side, several 'rebels' stood on the edge of the campus, smoking and throwing paper at said girls, jocks played football and several people sat there reading, drawing, writing or just talking.

Among the people lounging around the fountain in the middle of the courtyard not a single silver haired boy could be spotted. He shivered as another wind blew past him, sending chills up his spine. _I need to get out of this cold._ He thought, hurrying into the building. The Clock on the wall read 7:30, if Riku couldn't be found at the Sora; he was most likely in the art room.

Sora burst through the doors, smiling expectantly, only to pause, frowning at the empty room.

"Riku?" a muffled voice said before several crashes were heard and Sora saw sheets of paper fly out from the closet, followed by a small red headed woman.

He entered reluctantly, narrowing his eyebrows at the woman who lay before him.

"Erm…are you ok?" he asked.

She laughed. "Nothings broken, I'm alive." She began to pick up the papers and Sora bent to help her. She looked him over. "You're not Riku."

Sora shook his head making a neat stack of white copy paper. "No but I'm looking for him, have you seen him?"

She shook her head. "That's weird…" She mumbled looking at the clock. "He's usually here by now."

Sora placed his stack on hers and picked them both up, she directed him to a nearby table where he deposited them neatly. "Well, if you see him, could you tell him Sora's looking for him?"

The woman's eyes lit up. "Oh! Are you Sora? Well aren't you the cutest thing!"

Sora's eye twitched.

"I'm Ms.Ariel, the section head of the art department. I've heard so much about you from Riku."

Sora blushed a bit. "Riku's…told you about me?"

She laughed. "Of course! I've never seen him so fascinated by something."

Sora's face turned redder before an idea popped into his head. "You know Riku well don't you?"

She beamed, nodding, moving to pull out her chair only to knock over the stack of papers again.

"Can you tell me a little bit about him?"

She stared at the papers, as if debating whether to pick them up or not, before shrugging and sitting in her seat, motioning for Sora to take the stool by her desk.

"Well…where do I start. I met him about four years ago. I had just moved to the islands, and was visiting a friend. He was sitting on the stairs to his house, with some loose-leaf and a pencil. I stopped to look, and well…I'm sure you've seen the boy's art. You'd be crazy not to get hooked. We got to know each other a little better and I offered to pay for him to attend school here. He refused, but I do anyway, disguising it as a little 'art scholarship'. He's too stubborn for his own good."

Sora smiled, imagining a twelve-year-old Riku, sitting on his steps and making magic. "He lives with his father only right? Is it true he used to play Blitzball?"

Ariel snorted. "I wouldn't call that man a father, and yes he did play…shouldn't you be asking Riku these things?"

Sora sighed, cupping his chin in his hands. In the months they had been going out Sora had learned many things about Riku. His favorite color was blue, he liked loud music, hated the smell of alcohol, perfume and popcorn. He liked to wake up at six o clock every morning; he was cranky if he didn't have at least two cups of green tea a day. He liked action movies and work. He had learned almost all the little things, what bothered Riku, what made him smile. He understood his body language and learned that in Riku language sometimes yes was no, sometimes no was yes, though most of the time no was no but with a little coaxing it became a yes. He also learned the two 'don't go there' subjects that Riku had. His family, and Blitzball.

Noticing Sora slipping into another world she grinned eagerly, rubbing her hands together. "How about some embarrassing stories?"

Sora smirked. "That'd be great."

>>>

_Hey. There was another store just like this two blocks ago…there was another block just like this two blocks ago. Wasn't that old lady two blocks away two blocks ago? How'd she get here so fast?_

Cloud rubbed his aching head. Too much thinking. He narrowed his eyes at the sign. _Twilight Street._ They drove again, Leon clutching the steering wheel frustrated. Sure enough, fifteen minutes later they passed the sign again.

_We're lost._ Cloud through a look at Leon. _Ask for directions you moron._ He rolled down his window, letting the morning breeze hit his face. Had they been driving _all night_? Cloud sighed, since Leon wasn't going to get them out of this anytime soon Cloud saw it as his duty to set things right.

"STOP THE CAR!" he screamed.

Leon jumped, nearly hitting a pole before swerving out the way, "Cloud? What the hell?"

"STOP THE DAMN CAR!"

Leon hit the breaks, both of them jerking forward as the car came to a stop.

Cloud motioned for the old woman to come toward them. He rolled his window down completely, leaning out to the old woman. "Heya there can you do me an itty bitty favor? You see this guy I'm with? Well, he seems to have gotten us lost, and I want him to ask directions, but I'm not talking to him right now so do you think you can shimmy on over to the other side of the car and let him know that Cloud said to stop being a prick and just ask for directions already."

The woman stared at him for a moment, as did Leon, before heading over to the other side of the car. "Cloud said-"

"I know what he said I was sitting right here the whole time!" Leon sighed, banging his head against the steering wheel. He had gotten no sleep and wasn't in the best mood. "Look, can you do me a favor and tell me how to get back on the main road?"

The woman pointed to a another street that branched out from the one he had been on for the past thirty-two hours. _Why didn't I notice that before_. He thanked her quietly before beginning to roll up his window.

"Wait!" the woman said after being stopped again by Cloud. "He says to get out of the car?"

"What?" Leon asked

She glared at him. "GET OUT THE DAMN CAR…he says." Her expression turning back to normal. He mumbled obscenities as he got out, what was this idiot planning.

Cloud also removed himself from his seat, sliding over to take Leon's. He was switching places, so Leon could rest. Leon gratefully took Cloud's seat, thanking the woman before Cloud drove away.

It wasn't until he got a chance to rest did he notice how tired he was. Cloud hated this car, hated the thought of driving something his parents had bought for him. He still did it though, allowing Leon to rest. Granted he probably just didn't want to risk Leon falling asleep at the wheel and sending them both plunging mercilessly to their death, he still did something he hated, allowing Leon to do something he needed. This was the Cloud he knew, the goofy, kind Cloud. Insane and somewhat scary, but always willing to help out other people. He liked this Cloud much better than the angry, silent one he had brought out through they're little argument. He leant his head on the glass, closing his eyes in happy rest. "Thank you." He mumbled before drifting off to sleep.

>>>

"You're late." Ariel said as Riku entered her class.

He shrugged sitting down at one of the rows of empty desks. "Do you _ever_ have a class?"

"Heh…this school is lacking in artistic talent. HEY! Stop trying to change the subject, where were you?"

Riku sighed running a hand through his hair. "That _man_ actually came home _sober_."

Ariel snorted. "Ha! And what happened."

"He wants to start a family, he wants to _change_. He has a job now." He said in a voice mocking that of his fathers. "Bull. Shit. He was probably sober cause he didn't have anymore money to buy booze…thus why he wants a job all of a sudden."

"Ass hole…if you ever need anything Riku, a place to stay, someone to talk to, a bat to beat the shit out of that stupid ass…you can come to me."

Riku laughed shaking his head as he began to draw. "Thanks, don't go getting all 'dramatic teacher who just wants to help and later get a movie made about her depicting her heroic deeds in saving the young artist boy' on me."

Ariel sighed. A sly smile creeping on her face. "Sora was looking for you."

The point on Riku's pencil broke. "Sora came here?"

She nodded, the smile never leaving her face. "We chatted a bit. He's a very nice boy, cute too."

Riku's eyes widened, he lowered his head to the desk. "What did you tell him?"

"RIKU! I'm hurt. You really think I'd embarrass you?" she exclaimed holding her hand to her heart in mock hurt.

Riku looked at her through slitted eyes.

"Ok…fine fine. Remember, back when the art department was full…and you got into that argument with Yuffie and you fell asleep in the art room…and we used kool aid to dye your hair red…and you didn't notice and walked around half the school before-"

"You didn't!" Riku exclaimed sitting up.

Ariel giggled. "And remember that other incident…with the chem. Lab?"

Riku groaned slamming his head against the desk.

>>>

"Lunch time, lunch time how I love the lunch time. Yummy food, tastes so good, my favorite period yet."

Sora sang as he piled food onto his tray, eyes wide, cheeks blushing as if the food was the best, most beautiful thing to ever come into his life. The lunch ladies giggled remarking how cute the boy was. When it came to food and Riku Sora just became 'puppyfied' (as Yuffie put it).

He put his full tray on the table, picking up a hot dog and biting into it. He looked like the happiest boy in the world munch, munch, munching away. Just looking at Sora enjoying his food so much made you want to get on the line and get some for yourself.

"SORA!" Rikku exclaimed, slamming her hands on the table, with Zell in toe.

Said boy began chocking as the shock caused the food to become lodged in his throat. He motioned frantically for the soda that was currently on the other side of the table. Yuffie and Aerith, who had been silently watching Sora enjoy the food both reached for the bottle of soda at the same time, knocking it over in the process.

"Heh heh heh…uh…whoops?"

"Don't die Sora! You need to come with us!"

Aerith picked up the spilling bottle, thrusting it at Sora who downed it in one gulp, breathing heavily as the color returned to his face.

"Gee! Nice to know I have friends to count on when I'm in trouble." Sora exclaimed scowling, before taking another bit of his hot dog. "What's up?"

"We have a small issue." Zell said taking a seat at the table.

"No! Not a small issue! A really really big problem!" Rikku exclaimed. "Cloud and Leon have been missing for TWO days! Noone's seen them at school, they haven't gone to practice! It's horrible!"

Sora made sure to swallow before speaking again. "Ok…maybe they're sick."

"Both of them? At the same time?" Zell asked.

"IMPOSSIBLE!" Rikku screamed.

"Calm down would ya?" Zell exclaimed.

"Make me stupid."

"HEY! I'm not stupid."

"HA!"

"What'd you just say?"

"HA!"

Sora sighed, stepping in between the two. "Why don't we go see Cid? He'll know."

Rikku and Zell threw one last glare at each other before agreeing.

>>>

"It's horrible! It's terrible! It's a disaster!"

Cid jumped as the door to his office slammed open and Rikku jumped into the room.

"Wha? Have you ever heard of _knocking_ girl? And what's a disaster?"

Rikku opened her mouth to speak but Zell covered her mouth with his hand.

"Cloud and Leon haven't showed up to school or practice since yesterday, and we were wondering if maybe you know where they were?" Sora asked quietly, the coach still made him a little nervous.

"Oh, I sent those two to South Traverse yesterday to pick up the new uniforms."

Zell yelped as Rikku bit his finger as hard as she could, causing him to jump back.

"BOTH OF THEM TOGETHER! ARE YOU CRAZY! THEY'LL KILL EACH OTHER!" she exclaimed jumping up and down.

Cid shook his head. "I doubt it."

"HA!" Rikku exclaimed. "Have you seen those two lately? When they're together they just ooze homicidal-ness."

"Erm…Rikku, I don't think that's a word." Sora said, but shut up with a glare from the girl.

"So they disappeared for two days, they'll be back."

"And…if they don't come back? What if they were too busy strangling each other so they didn't notice their car being drove off a cliff and into the ocean where they were rescued and just when they let their guard down they realized they were rescued by a tribe of hungry cannibals and are laying scattered on the plates of cannibals all along the western coast?"

Cid raised an eyebrow. "You got one big imagination girl."

"WHAT IF THEY DON'T COME BACK!"

Cid shrugged. "We hold tryouts for new captains."

"You bit me! How could you _bite _me? Now I need rabies shots!"

Rikku stuck her tongue out at Zell. "I don't have rabies'! And I'll bite you again if you talk to me like that one more time!" she exclaimed chasing him out the office.

Sora grinned, nervously inching his way to the door.

"Hey, I didn't see you in the wash room yesterday."

"Oh, practice was canceled."

"Practice was canceled? Who told you that?"

Sora shrugged. "The team did, Leon and Cloud didn't show up, so they figured they'd just go home."

Cid raised an eyebrow before shaking his head and returning to his paperwork. There first game was sneaking up fast and they _still_ weren't a team yet. He sighed leaning back in his chair. "Better pray for a miracle kid."

>

_A/N:HEEEY. Sorry for the delay…also sorry if this chapter kind of sucks. I'm going through some DRAMA right now and my mind really isn't here. But I checked my mail, so the reviews and they actually made me smile so since I have nothing better to do, I figured I had an obligation to finish this chapter. Because I want to show you people that you're reviews are NOT being wasted on me I wanted to post reply's…but I'm sure you've seen stupid new rule…so Review replies are in my live journal (link in profile), and will be posted there for every chapter here on. Oh yea…and the kool aid incident…it really **did** happen…me and my best friend Liz used it on my friend Andrew. He didn't realize he had red streaks in his hair all day…hee hee. It smelled good to. It comes out in water though…so he didn't kill us for destroying his beautiful blonde locks. (ha ha!)_

_Thanks for reading, thanks so much for reviewing, and please review this chapter. _


	18. Right Turn

_**Beautiful Disaster**_

_**By: ScarletDreams **_

**_Disclaimer: All characters, most places things etc. belong to Square-Enix and Disney…or whatever, I _don't own anything…so…don't sue me ok?**

_/Now we're as low as we can get  
__Can't leave and can't forget  
__We ain't right, we ain't right  
__Not right, we ain't right /_

**Chapter Nineteen**

**Right Turn**

Zell sighed leaning against the back of the bench. "It's been a half an hour already…I don't think they're showing up."

Seifer shrugged. "So we cancel practice again. No one wants to spend their Thursday sitting here doing nothing."

Rikku was sprawled over the bench. "It's just not like them though…to just not show up. Maybe something's wrong." She actually did sound worried as she absently played with Zell's hair.

"Like, I said, we go home."

"We can't go home." Zell exclaimed. "Our game is coming up what about practice."

"Who asked you chicken wuss? Don't think you can handle the sphere pool!"

Zell lunged at Seifer, only to be pulled back by Irvine.

"MISSSS MEEEEEE!" A voice cried as the doors to the stadium burst open.

"CLOUD!" Rikku cried sitting up.

Cloud entered the stadium, Leon in toe currently struggling with several large boxes.

"What the hell took you guys so long! You know how worried I was?" Rikku exclaimed.

Cloud through himself on the bench beside her, smelling his shirt. "Woo…I need a shower."

"What took you guys so long?" Cid asked from his doorway.

"Leon got lost." Cloud stated stretching. They all looked to the brunette for an answer but he merely scowled, dropping down on one of the bleachers.

"Show us what you practiced while we were gone." Leon stated, leaning back.

The Blitzball team all exchanged looks.

"Well?" Cloud asked leaning forward.

"We…uh…we couldn't practice because, well…you weren't here." Rikku stated.

"You couldn't practice…or you didn't practice."

They exchanged looks again. "Both…" Irvine said quietly.

Clouds mouth fell open and Leon brought his hand to pinch the bridge of his nose.

"You could've practiced. You have the stadium, you have the balls, _and_ you know how horrible you are. You could have practiced without us." Leon said, obviously annoyed.

"But you weren't here." Zell said.

"SO WHAT!" Cloud exclaimed "You know what you have to do. Why are you here anyways? All of you?"

"If you're not going to practice, you're not going to get better. Simple as that. You don't practice, you don't get better. You don't get better you loose." Leon said closing his eyes tightly as he brought his hand to his forehead.

"Despite what you may believe. You have NO obligation whatsoever to this team. Go home, go home and think long and hard about _why_ exactly it is you're here. If you can't come up with a good reason, don't come back. If you can come back. It's going to be _Hell_ from here on out. Our first game is in two weeks, everyone's out to whoop our asses since we're the champions. You're going to have to work harder than you ever did in your life. If you want to, and are willing to do that, then come back if not, then just don't show up and waste our time." Cloud said before getting up. "You can go home now."

>>>

"Sora?"

The brunette turned around upon hearing his name. "Riku!" he exclaimed "Where have you been all day?"

The boy shrugged as he fell into step with the other, walking to the school parking lot almost in sync. "I got…erm…caught up at home."

Sora nodded.

"I started a new painting." Riku said.

Sora's face brightened up, he loved Riku's art. "Ooh! Can I see?"

Riku shrugged, getting in and unlocking the door for Sora. "Sure. Need a ride home?"

Sora slid in, grabbing Riku's arm and pointing toward across the campus.

"Looook!"

Cloud and Tifa were walking, she was hanging on his arm, hands moving rapidly as she told some amusing story. Cloud's facial expression seemed like that of an intent listener but every now and then his eye's wandered away from her.

From the opposite doors they saw Leon emerging, content on examining his car keys, he didn't see the two until he was right in front of them.

"Uh…oh…" Riku mumbled.

Cloud narrowed his eyes at Leon before turning to the car and getting in. Tifa stayed and attempted to make conversation with the brunette who brushed her off, heading towards his car without a word.

"What's going on with those two?" Sora asked leaning his head in his hand.

Riku shrugged, starting the car. "Who knows, but it's none of our business. Their problems always work themselves out in the end."

He drove out the parking lot, windows rolled down and the wind sliding in through them. Autumn was slowly leaving to allow winter to take its place. Wherever you walked you crunched browning leaves and practically bare trees lined every street. _Perfect time to practice backgrounds. _he thought as they drove along the road to Sora's house.

"Hey Sora…have you given any thought to what college you want to go to?" Riku asked playing with a strand of silver hair as they stopped at a red light.

Sora shrugged. "Not really…something close and cheap." He cocked his head to the side, clearly interested. "Have you?"

Riku shrugged returning his attentions to the road as the light changed to green. "Ariel, the art teacher, she told me about these art contests, in February and May. Cash prizes for both. If I even manage to scrape up third place in both contests, plus the money I can save working at the store and maybe some financial aid if I get my grades up I might be able to attend a University…if I can get in."

Sora beamed. "Of course you can get in! With you're art they _can't_ say no! Third place! Please Riku, we'll all know you'll take first and then you'll be _rolling_ in cash! Ooh Ooh! Or maybe some famous old art collector dude comes and sees your paintings and offers you millions of dollars to draw for him! You'll be a famous artist at the age of sixteen!"

Riku tore his eyes away from the rode to look quickly at his rambling boyfriend, lost in dreams of Riku's success. He smiled softly to himself as his eyes returned to the rode. He never had someone believe in him so much before. It was nice.

"What are you doing tomorrow night?" he asked as they pulled up into Sora's driveway.

Sora turned to look at him, eye's looking up as he thought. "Nothing important…you?"

"I was wondering if maybe you wanted to go see a movie, grab something to eat."

Sora thought. They had been dating for two months and had yet to have an official date. Every time they managed to get alone time _someone_ had to come and interrupt. Of course Sora loved his friends to death, they just had the annoying habit of showing up at the least appropriate times. Riku, him, privacy and _food_. His grin widened. "Sure!" he exclaimed tackling the boy in a hug.

Riku smirked. "It's a date then." He said quickly pressing his lips to Sora's.

"See you tomorrow!" Sora exclaimed as he jogged up to his door, turning to wave at the retreating car.

_I think you just might have found your muse._

Riku's smirk turned into a full-scale _smile_ as he drove to his own house. "I can't agree with you more."

>

_A/N: Ooooh Short chapter! Sorryyyyy…I just, kinda had to force this out. My brain hasn't been agreeing with me lately. ;;. All the annoying prep work, formalities and introductions are officially COMPLETED! (It took 19 chapters for THAT) and now the actual plot can start happening. Chapters are gonna start getting longer, all the different folds are going to start coming together, Sora and Seifer make good on their bet, We finally see what Namine's planning and Cloud and Leon will finally make up!…hopefully. I just want to bang their heads together because they're so stubborn…then I remember I made them that way. Xx. heh heh heh…well…please review. Thanks very much to everyone who reviewed last chapter. Kumiku-chan makes me laugh. Hopefully everyone gets this chapter and not the other one I posted…because that chapter was horrible._

_Shout outs to-_

_KumikuChan  
Timoteo  
YukKi  
Cas Dragonfly and  
Shi no Yume _

_For reviewing and making me happy. You guys are awesome! _

_Also thanks to everyone who's reading this and not reviewing…you guys are awesome too! Lol_

_Well…expect an update soon…until next time…_

_Is it just me or are my A/N getting longer and longer…sorry about that…I'll try to shut up._


	19. Let the Dream Last

_**Beautiful Disaster**_

_**By: ScarletDreams **_

**_Disclaimer: All characters, most places things etc. belong to Square-Enix and Disney…or whatever, I _don't own anything…so…don't sue me ok?**

_/Everything changes  
__But beauty remains  
__Something so tender  
__I can't explain  
__Well I may be dreaming  
__But 'till I awake  
__Can we make this dream last forever/_

**Chapter Nineteen**

_Let The Dream Last_

Sora looked from Cloud to Leon and then to the empty sphere pool in front of them. Five minutes into the practice and no one but them had shown up. Two captains and a towel boy hardly made a threatening Blitzball team.

The whole day had just been plain _weird_. Cloud and Leon weren't talking and so never together, and everyone on the Blitzball team had been avoiding each other and looking down at their feet when either of the two captains walked by.

The clocks ticking filled the vast emptiness of the stadium reminding them of wasted time they couldn't get back. Cloud sighed, leaning his chin in his palm and switching positions. He could never sit still too long.

"Maybe no ones coming." Sora stated quietly.

"They are!" Cloud said his head snapping to look at Sora. "At least one of them has too…" despite the conviction in his voice he couldn't hide the doubt in his eyes.

It was times like these that those eyes, always so full, would turn to Leon, silently asking for comfort, or approval. And Leon would close his eyes and nod his head slowly once with one of those half smirks he showed only to Cloud.

But this time was different and instead the blonde bit his lip, turning his eyes instead to the clock on the other side of the stadium.

Then, slowly the door opened, the otherwise quiet creak reverberating through the silent room. Rikku smiled as she walked down the aisle, Zell beside her.

"So it's down to us huh?" Zell asked running a hand through his hair and dropping down on the bench next to Sora.

"Five people don't make a Blitzball team." Rikku said quietly looking from Cloud to Leon.

Leon merely grunted.

Five more minutes passed. Unable to take the silence and idleness of the stadium Cloud, Zell and Rikku began doing drills. They ran from one side of the stadium to the other, tagging the walls before returning to their places, tossed and caught Blitz balls while attempting to hold their breath.

Five more minutes passed.

Sora got up, stretching. He really just wanted this practice to end so he could go on his date with Riku.

Five more minutes passed and even Leon had to get up. He joined in the training, timing the runs, and criticizing the passes.

They were all sweaty and breathing heavily when the doors opened again and Seifer walked in. He caught sight of them and sucked his teeth as he began the long trek down the aisle. Irvine and Zidane followed in back of him along with a few other bench warmers he had recruited to be his cronies.

"SEEEIFEERR!" Rikku exclaimed jumping up, forgetting her exhaustion. "I never thought I'd be happy to see you!"

The blonde simply 'feh'd before sitting on the bleachers. Little by little the Blitzball team returned till everyone was on the field.

An hour and a half later they were sprawled out on the bleachers, Sora walking along the ends handing towels down the line.

"So you've come back." Cloud said, addressing the group in front of him. "Why? What's your reason for playing?"

The group exchanged looks, each searching for the right answer.

"Does it matter?" Zell asked from the back. "We like to play, we want to play. We're willing to work hard. Is the reason that important?"

Cloud looked sternly at Zell, almost making the boy regret his words. But his frown soon twitched upwards into a smile as he looked down on them proudly. "Finally." He said.

The loud sound of gears turning and sloshing water filled the stadium. Leon leant against the wall one hand still on the switch he just flipped, causing the sphere pool to fill with water. "We said we were going to work you're asses off…now we'll make good on that. Suit up, we're getting in."

_>>>_

_4:58_

Sora smiled to himself as the hamper at his hip got lighter and lighter. He laid exactly twenty-four towels along the small ledge surrounding the open showers and twenty-four more on the benches in the locker area.

He placed the hamper with several extra towels in the corner just as the clock struck 5. Practice was _supposed_ to be over at 5, though he usually stayed longer to hand out towels and then collect and wash said towels long after the majority of the Blitzball team had left. Today however, he had much more important things to worry about.

He grabbed his bag and coat, practically running out of the room. "It's five! I'm leaving!" he called behind him as he sprinted up the aisles. The team was in the sphere pool and probably would be there for a long time (Cloud had promised to work them to death after all). They either didn't hear him or care seeing as how no one looked back.

Sora burst through the doors, managing to keep enough self control to keep himself from running across the campus to where Riku leaned casually on his car.

The silver haired boy smiled as he saw Sora approach. "Hey," he said softly causing the brunette to practically melt at his feet.

"Hi Riku!" he exclaimed happily. He was just so happy to finally have some time to spend with Riku. Just Riku. He was practically bursting with excitement over the mere thought of the events to come. "We're still going right?"

Riku chuckled, opening the passenger's door to in response smiling lovingly at the huge grin Sora through him before entering the vehicle. Riku walked around to his seat, sliding in and starting the car.

"We better get a move on, looks like rain." Riku said as they drove off the school campus.

Sora raised an eyebrow, cocking his head to the side. "Rain? There isn't a single cloud in the sky." He looked out the window as if to confirm his statement.

"I've lived in Traverse Town for sixteen years now Sora. I think I'd know the weather."

Sora furrowed his eyebrow, nodding at his boyfriend in the kind of 'Yea…suuuure you do' way people usually saved for senile old people, adding a little pat on the knee for emphasis.

Riku shrugged. "You'll see."

Sora grinned stupidly, hands clasped in his lap as they sat in silence, a sort of childlike anticipation just oozing out of him. He side glanced at Riku who was intent on the road eyebrows furrowed in concentration as he slammed on the brakes to avoid collision with a car that had suddenly stopped short. 'Bastard' he mumbled glaring through his side mirror. Sora giggled.

"Riku…where are we going exactly?"

Riku tore his eyes away from the road to glance at Sora before returning them to the front. "My house first,"

"You're house!" Sora exclaimed blushing profusely.

Riku nodded raising an eyebrow. "Yes my house. We can drop off our bags and change our clothes…unless you prefer to go hang out in our uniforms?" he said with a touch of humor.

Sora pouted. "I didn't think of that. I don't have a change of clothes."

Riku laughed. "You can borrow something of mine, I think we're about the same size."

Sora's grinned widened as he turned to look out the window again, this night was going to be _great_.

>>>

'_Oh please whatever omniscient forces control my life please don't let him be passed out in front of the door_' Riku thought one eye partially closed in a sort of half wince as he pushed open the front door to his house.

He sighed in relief as the door opened easily. He entered, dropping his back and jacket on the couch and turning to tell Sora to do the same only to find the boy still outside.

"…Sora?" Riku asked as the boy stared down as if in some sort of trance.

The brunette turned to Riku, smiling widely. "Look!" He exclaimed breathing out, a puff of vapor appeared before disappearing. "I can see my breath!"

Riku momentarily forgot Sora had come from an island, where in never got this cold. "Yea…maybe you should come inside so you don't freeze to death island boy?"

Sora scowled sticking his tongue out at Riku but complying with his request. He looked around, taking in his surroundings. The living room was small, consisting of a worn looking tan couch set and a small TV. atop a wooden bookcase. The brown carpet ended in the opening to a kitchen and then there were stairs in the back. The walls were bare and they seem to just radiate tension, as if it had seen one too many confrontations in its time.

Riku began ascending the stairs and Sora followed, reaching the second for landing and turning at the end of the hall into what he deemed Riku's room. He instantly felt much more comfortable. The carpet was a dark blue and the bed unmade. In the corner was a black TV. and stereo and directly across from the bed was a large window giving Riku view of the whole street. An easel stood neatly by the bed and several paintings hung on the walls. It wasn't clean, but it wasn't disgustingly messy either. It had that lived in kind of feeling that made u feel right at home.

Sora walked over, running his hands over a painting of the city at night. "You did all these?"

Riku nodded removing his blazer and loosening his tie. "They're mostly new stuff. I had a bit of an artists block for awhile…but that seems to have gone away In the past few months." He said smiling at Sora before turning into his closet. He pulled out a pair of loose black jeans and a tight fighting red long sleeve shirt and tossed them to Sora. "These should look good on you. Do you want the room or the bathroom?"

Sora shrugged, catching the clothes and holding them up to his frame. "It doesn't matter."

Riku grabbed some clothes from the closet for him before shutting the door with his foot. "You can have the room. I'll be back in five minutes." He said shutting the door behind him.

Sora blushed at the idea of getting undressed in Riku's room, but erased all modesty from his mind as the scratchy blazer rubbed against his skin. He removed it quickly and untied his tie, neatly folding them and setting them on Riku's bed before he removed the rest of his uniform and put on the clothes. The pants were baggy but fit fine around the waist, and the shirt clung to what little muscle he had while rising a bit above his stomach. _I bet Riku did that on purpose though_. Sora thought, giggling at the honesty of that statement.

"Lookin' good."

Sora jumped, turning to where Riku leaned in the door way, school uniform replaced by a pair of light blue jeans and a blue and white collared shirt. "You too." Sora said grinning as Riku through his uniform in a corner and went to join Sora at the window.

A clap of thunder disturbed the silence and a flash of lightning illuminated the dark streets as sheets and sheets of rain began to fall from the sky simultaneously.

"Told you." Riku said smirking.

"Ah lucky guess." Sora said sticking his tongue out at Riku as he dropped onto the other boy's bed, all nervousness at being alone with him obviously gone.

"Real mature Sora. Put that tongue away." He said jokingly.

The cinnamon haired boy smirked slyly. "Make me."

Riku grinned sitting on the bed beside Sora. "That, can be arranged."

With one hand lightly holding the other boys chin Riku covered Sora's mouth with his own, making good Sora's request as he slid his tongue along Sora's hiding their fun with his mouth.

Sora grinned into the kiss lost in the vibes Riku gave off and just the knowledge that here they were together. They weren't really big on public affection in the closed minded city of Traverse Town (not that they really cared what people thought) but any smile, glance or touch from Riku just for him would send Sora into states of pure ecstasy.

Life was _great_.

>>>

Cloud sighed leaning his chin on his knees as he sat underneath the cover of the school building attempting to count the raindrops. Whatever powers controlling the daily events seemed to really have it in for the blonde. _The one day I walk to school…is the one day it pours. Shoulda watched the fricken weather channel…_He thought as he listened to the sound the rain made as it bounced off the roof, walls, pavement and trees. Any solid form that it hit caused it to make a different sound, it was actually quite soothing.

He debated staying and waiting for the storm to finish, or making a mad dash for the train station and then begging the teller man to let him on for free. The rain, which was now splashing off the sides of the building and hitting Cloud, did not seem to want to stop anytime soon and the blonde stood up, preparing to make a run for it. An extremely loud clap of thunder sent the blonde sitting right back down with a squeal. It couldn't rain _forever_. Right?

Leon sighed as he walked past the large window. Now thankful that his mother had forced him to bring an umbrella he head towards the front doors. His eyes rested on Cloud who was sitting with his knees drawn to his chest, seemingly staring into nothingness he didn't even looked up as the brunette passed. Opening up his umbrella he crossed the parking lot to his car a pang of…_something_ striking him at the lack of acknowledgement Cloud had given him.

He scowled opening the door and sliding in, starting the car as a loud clap of thunder filled the air again, lightning so strong it illuminated the whole parking lot.

_"Gah! Cloud what the hell?" Leon exclaimed turning to the blonde that was nearly attached to him, face buried in his chest. _

_"Can we…stay inside? Please? Please please pretty pretty please!" Cloud exclaimed. _

_"What! No, come on. What's wrong with you?" Leon said attempting to push the blonde away. _

_The thunder boomed again and Cloud yelped, jumping away to sit on the ground and cover his ears. "I hate thunderstorms. Like really **really**__hate them." He said looking up at Leon with frightened blue eyes. _

_Leon frowned, looking at the blonde skeptically. So Cloud Strife was normal. He wasn't sure he was relieved or disappointed at the realization that Cloud was like everyone else. There was always one unexplainable and irrational fear. _

_The desperate look in Cloud's eyes caused Leon to sigh, dropping down next to his friend. "Fine…we'll stay until the storms over."_

Leon sighed as he recalled the memory. He had completely forgot Cloud was afraid of thunderstorms, had been for as long as he could remember. He growled, frustrated with himself as he hit the brakes, doing a very illegal u-turn and heading back towards the school.

>>>

"Oh. My. God." Sora said…or at least would have said, if he wasn't standing like a statue, trembling as he gawked with his mouth open.

He was standing with Riku outside of a large restaurant. On the front of the restaurant was a large sign with the words 'Sephiroth's Steakhouse', printed in big bold letters, but it was the small print underneath that had sent Sora into cardiac arrest. Four little words that convinced him that he had died during school saving some poor frog that the bio lab was holding hostage and was currently enjoying the benefits one received in heaven after sacrificing their life for another. Four little words that made his day.

All You Can Eat.

Riku poked at his boyfriend, calling his name softly as he looked at him, worried that he had somehow offended the boy.

It was then Sora registered just what exactly that sign meant. He screamed tackling the taller boy in a bone crushing hug before grabbing his hand and pulling him towards the door. "COME ON! LET'S GO! INSIDE INSIDE!"

Riku chuckled, beaming with the realization that he had been correct in assuming that Sora would love this. By the time they ended their little make out session it was far too late and raining much to hard for them to go see a movie. Sora had promised his mother he'd be home by ten, which left them two hours to do what they wanted.

Sora had already ordered a table for two by the time Riku appeared at his side.

"That'd be $6.50."

Sora was about to reach for his wallet when Riku grabbed his arm. "I got this." He said handing the woman a ten dollar bill.

Sora squealed again giving him a kiss on the cheek as the woman handed Riku his change giving him a look that was a cross between confused and disgusted. Ignoring this Riku grabbed two plates and handed one to Sora who he immediately lost in the aisles of food.

>>>

Cloud buried his head in his knees, humming to himself as he attempted to drown out the thunder, eyes shut tight given the invisible task to remove the lightning from sight.

If he had looked up he would have seen a silver B.M.W. pulling up in front of the school. If he had looked up he would have seen the door open and an umbrella, and then person emerging from the front seat. If he had looked back he would have seen Leon walk over and stand in front of him.

The brunette, frustrated at the lack of attention cleared his throat, causing Cloud to look up. Stormy blue locked onto brilliant indigo, which widened at the sight of him.

"Leon…" Cloud said softly, wincing as another clap of thunder assaulted his ear drums.

"You'll get sick if you stay out here to long." Leon said smirking one of those amused half smiles that he saved only for Cloud. He leaned forward, as if offering his umbrella to the blonde.

Cloud smiled. "Does this mean we're friends again?"

Leon laughed inwardly, holding out his hand to the blonde. Another unnecessarily loud clap of thunder sent Cloud flying to Leon, arms wrapped around the brunette's neck as he buried his face in his chest. He had accidentally knocked the umbrella away, but neither noticed the sheets of rain immediately soaking them

"I was so scared…" Cloud said quietly.

Leon nodded assuming he was talking about the thunder storm and wrapping his arm around Cloud in a sort of half hug.

"I mean, I got to thinking. What if we graduated and didn't say _anything _to each other. What if we left to different colleges and I had my life and you had you're life and you weren't in mine and I wasn't in yours. I was thinking…and I've never been so terrified."

Leon's eyes widened in surprise before he regained his poker face just as the blonde looked up to see him. Leon smirked again, lightly pushing Cloud's cheek away with his fist in a sort of harmless punch. "Come on, I'll drive you home."

He opened the door for Cloud, watching the blonde slide in before he entered his own door.

"That'll never happen…right Leon?" Cloud asked quietly, staring at his hands.

"Don't be stupid." Leon said rolling his eyes as he looked at the blonde sternly. "Of course it won't."

>>>

_Gooood Morning Hikari High and welcome back from your Thanksgiving break! I hope you all enjoyed yourselves and are ready to get back on track. I know the Hikari Crusaders are, upon winning their third game their now only two games away from nationals and with the dynamic duo leading the team there's no way they can't win! Best of Luck to them and show them you're support at tomorrow's game! Clubs will be called down one by one for Yearbook photo's listen for times and in other news-"_

_"_Soooorrraaaa! Come on! Announcements already started! We're late!" Yuffie exclaimed stomping her foot frustrated.

"I won't come out!" Sora exclaimed angrily.

"Oh come on, it can't be that bad." Aerith said

"Yea! Let's see it!" Rikku exclaimed pumping a fist in the air as she kicked open the door to the boy's bathroom.

There were exactly ten seconds of silence after Sora emerged from the bathroom. Navy pleated skirt, white blouse with the bow around the collar. White knee socks adorning his less than feminine legs.

Ten seconds, before Yuffie burst into laughter.

Aerith and Rikku suppressed their laughter as Sora glared at Yuffie angrily. "I hope you choke on whatever humor you're getting from this situation."

"I don't think it looks bad at all." Sora's eyes widened as he saw Riku leaning against the wall opposite him.

He yelped diving back into the boy's bathroom, head peaking out of the door. "Riku!" he squeaked. "You should be in class! I don't want you to see me like this." He whined pouting.

"Sora…everyone gets a yearbook…_everyone's_ going to see you like this." Yuffie said in between laughs. "Ooh! LET'S GO SEE SEIFER!" she exclaimed making a beeline for the Blitzball stadium.

Aerith and Rikku laughed, holding out an arm to Sora. "Come on." Rikku said supportingly. "Let's get it over with."

Ten minutes later the entire school was _roaring_ with laughter, seeing as how they had all cut class to watch the Blitzball team take a photo. The camera man had raised an eyebrow, giving Cid a confused look before throwing up his hands and mumbling 'I don't even want to know'.

Sora couldn't help but laugh when he caught sight of Seifer. He was considerably larger, more masculine and hairier than Sora causing him to look much more ridiculous. Sora had actually gotten a few _compliments_ on the way he looked. At lunch, the girls flocked to his table while the boys hung around Seifer laughing and making jokes at the steaming mad boy.

Weeks after Sora had returned to his normal clothes he still had people following him. Strangers who he thought never knew he existed greeted him in the halls and offered help when he needed it. Seifer had been completely humiliated and still was not allowed to live it down. Him and Riku were doing better than ever and the weather channel promised Snow over the next weekend.

Life was _great._

_>_

_A/N : Whooo Ten pages. Sorry I couldn't get this to you earlier but my mind was too busy getting gang raped by midterms to cooperate with me. I hope you all can forgive me for the delay…no…ten pages of shounen ai goodness is not me bribing you (ok…maybe a little bit). Hope you enjoyed this chapter…please review…(I've been dying to try out the new review reply button thingys…I can actually reply to reviews without the possibility of my story being removed!). _

_Next Chapter Namine finally gets those pictures. Everything's so fluffy and good in this chapter…but you know what they say: what goes uP…must come DoWn…and boy will it come down. _


	20. Cruel Intentions

_**Beautiful Disaster**_

_**By: ScarletDreams **_

**_Disclaimer: All characters, most places things etc. belong to Square-Enix and Disney…or whatever, I _don't own anything…so…don't sue me ok?**

_/Yeah she wants to tear you down  
__And she leaves without a sound  
__It's like falling backwards  
__Into no one's arms/_

**Chapter Twenty-One **

_Cruel Intentions_

Riku smiled to himself as, with one final stroke of his brush, his painting was finally finished. Nearly two months worth of creative ideas, sleepless weekends and an unlimited supply of doubt and worry had passed before he could totally and completely declare the painting finished. It was his masterpiece. The greatest thing he had ever created. As he drew the violet curtain over the canvas, the outrageous ideas Sora had come up with the evening Riku told him about the contest didn't seem so outrageous anymore.

It had snowed the night before and a thick blanket covered the city, splashing everything with white. Snow mountains six or seven feet high sat on the edges of the streets where the plows had pushed them to create a path, and landlords everywhere covered their steps with salt to reduce slippage.

Sixteen years worth of winters did nothing to dull the awe that came the morning after a snowstorm. _I can't wait to see Sora's reaction_. He thought, grabbing his coat and hurryingly buttoning it. Sighing in annoyance he turned to respond to the knocks on his door. "What do you want Ansem?" he asked venomously.

His father came into view, leaning in the doorway. He was fully clothed in his attire from the night before, clothes wrinkled from his night on the floor. "Is that how you greet your old man?" he asked with a sneer, lips retreating to reveal yellow teeth. The only feature identifying them as kin was his shoulder length silver hair.

Ansem's sneer retracted a bit at the annoyed and slightly unnerved look on Riku's face. "I need some money." He said finally.

Riku raised an eyebrow, amazed at the mans audacity. "I don't have any." He said coldly.

Ansem glared. "Don't play stupid. I know you do."

"Nope. I'm as broke as you." Riku said shoving his hands in his pockets as if to emphasize his statement. His fingertips brushed on the tip of a twenty-dollar bill contradicting his earlier statement. There was no doubt if he did give the man money, he'd blow it all on liquor. Riku would die before he gave the man anything.

Ansem walked into the room, leaning over the desk and picking up the sketchbook that laid half way out of Riku's book bag. "It's cause you spend all your money on this art shit." He flipped through the pages. "This art shit…" he repeated, his words slurred together in his drunken stupor.

Riku snatched the book back, throwing across onto his bed. "Don't touch my stuff."

The two stood, glaring at each heatedly.

"I'm gonna be late." Riku spat grabbing his bag and pushing his way past Ansem.

Ansem watched Riku's retreating form, acknowledging reluctantly that the boy was no longer afraid of him. He was becoming over confident, disrespectful. Ansem smirked looking over towards the bed where the sketchbook lay open. This would have to change.

>>>

"Snoooooowww!" Sora exclaimed running down the stairs.

Today had already started off excellent and the snow only magnified the promise of a _great_ day. He turned into the kitchen only to find his mother standing there, looking agitated half wrapped in the cords of the phone as she spoke, her hushed voice steadily rising in anger.

_Your Father_ She mouthed rolling her eyes. Sora shook his head, grabbing two pieces of toast from the table and kissing her on the cheek before leaving. He wouldn't let _anything_ ruin his day before it even started.

He giggled happily as he threw himself in the snow that had accumulated in his driveway. Rolling around in it like a child. He drew strange looks from passerby's but really couldn't care less.

It was only after several minutes of this that Sora lost the feeling in his face and decided it was time to get up and start the journey to school.

He grinned widely as he walked up the block, kicking up the snow in his path. They had always talked about snow back on Destiny Islands. _Kairi and Selphie would love this._ He thought as he turned the corner. He contemplating sending some to them but decided against it. It'd probably melt and then they'd be left wondering why he'd sent them a soggy box.

He reached the school feeling confident and content. Smile still present as he walked through the gates. The courtyard had been clear of most of the snow, but the trees had dropped some here and there and the walkway was slippery.

"Sora!" Yuffie cried and the boy ducked instinctively preparing for her snow assault.

He looked up confused when it didn't come. He spotted Yuffie standing to the side with Cloud, both of them looking anxious and worried and he noticed the crowd of people that had gathered in front of the schools student bulletin board, placed so the students could post flyers for club meetings, announcements, and more often than not, parties.

The smile sliding from his face he slowly began to walk over to it. The whispering crowd pulled apart as he approached, making room for him to pass. He continued the short trek that felt like miles with everyone's eyes on him.

"Sora don't…" Aerith said quietly from her place beside Leon.

Ignoring her he pressed on, eyes widening at what he saw. Posted all over the bulletin board were pictures of him and Riku, dancing, laughing, kissing. Enlarged and copied with 'Hikari High Homos' printed in large bold lettering. Sora pulled a flyer off of it, only to find another pinned underneath.

He turned, trembling to the crowds that were surrounding him. He was shaking and his vision blurred, his ears blocking out the obscenities they were shouting as they crumpled up flyers and threw them at him. His mind went into defense mode then, much like a turtle receding into its shell. He couldn't move, he couldn't talk, only stare as the papers bounced off of his head and insults slapped him over and over again.

He vaguely registered Cloud coming up and beginning to tear down the flyers, but no matter how many he took down there was always more. They were scattered along the campus, pasted along the school walls and distributed among the student body. His face was red with rage as he continued, despite his lack of progress, to try and rid the board of the pictures. Leon shouted something as he attempted to break up the crowd and Aerith and Yuffie linked their arms with his and fought a path through the crowd as they attempted to take him to the sanctuary of the school.

>>>

Riku hummed along to a tune that refused to leave his head as he pulled into the school parking lot. He raised an eyebrow as he saw Sora enter the building with Yuffie and Aerith. He turned off the car and was about to follow when the crowd of people and Leon's shouting caught his attention.

He began to walk, a feeling of dread accumulating in his gut. The crowd was quiet when they saw him, not daring to yell any obscenities or throw anything at him as he approached. He looked at Leon for an answer but the brunette just looked back sympathetically.

Riku stopped, looking at the faces of the crowd for an answer but they all looked away quickly. Leon showing emotion plus the reaction of the crowd only magnified Riku's worry as he approached the bulleting board, stopping in front of Cloud. Riku looked at the papers in Clouds hand and held out his own.

"Riku…" Cloud said softly, shaking his head no.

Sighing exasperatedly he grabbed a crumpled paper from the pile in Cloud's hand, eyes widening. He stared, dumbfounded at the flyer before crumpling it up in his clenched fists.

"Who did this!" He exclaimed angrily. "Who's responsible for this!"

There was a shuffling among the crowd, soft murmuring, but no one owned up to it.

"That's it! Get to class. There's nothing to see here. It's over." Leon yelled waving his arms to break up the crowd.

"You heard him, you got you're show so get outta here!" Cloud exclaimed angrily, grabbing the closest person to him and shoving him in the direction of the doors. Slowly the crowd broke up, leaving Riku standing in the middle of the courtyard, clutching the flyer and shaking with rage.

>>>

"Sora are you all right?" Rikku asked as she entered the Blitzball stadium, where Aerith and Yuffie had taken Sora until the crowd died down.

He nodded, offering her a smile before his eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets as she trapped him in her bone-crushing hug.

"Why would someone do something so horrible?" Aerith asked, putting an arm around Sora comfortingly.

"Because there assholes Aerith. Simple and clean, there's no other way to put it." Rikku said angrily.

"Well said!" Yuffie exclaimed "When I find out who did that…"

"It's fine, really." Sora said quietly.

"NO It's Not FINE!" Yuffie and Rikku exclaimed angrily.

"Whoever did that had no business getting involved in you and Riku's personal relationship. And the rest of the students should not have reacted that way. I'm so sorry Sora." Aerith said quietly.

"You don't have to be sorry Aerith. You didn't do anything wrong. Thanks for your help guys but I'll be ok…I was just shocked that's all." Sora said smiling as he stood up. "Come on, the bells going to ring."

He turned and quickly left so that the girls wouldn't see the doubt building up in his eyes. _What will Riku think?_ He thought as he walked swiftly through the halls, ignoring everyone's eyes on him.

>>>

The bell resounded through the halls and Namine shut her locker, turning to make her way to her next class. She gasped as two hands slammed on either side of her, trapping her in front of her locker.

"I know it was you." Riku snarled leaning in so that their faces were mere inches apart. "I want to know why."

She recovered from her initial surprise quickly and smirked as she looked him square in the eye. Her left eyebrow was raised slightly in defiance, disguising the rhythm of her speeding heart and her slightly trembling hands. "You have no proof." She stated, her smirk widening. Her body language spoke for itself, cockily owning up to what she did and playing on the fact that Riku could do absolutely nothing about it.

Riku suppressed a growl as one of his hands formed a fist, punching the locker as hard as he could in a feeble attempt to keep his temper in check. No matter how much he despised Namine Riku would never hit a girl and Namine knew that just as well as he did.

"Now if you'll please move. I'm already late." She said shoving Riku away from her and quickly walking down the empty hall.

"**Would Riku Destati and Sora Himura please report to the principles office _immediately_.**"

Riku sighed, bringing a hand to his forehead as he heard the announcements. _What more could they possibly want?_

_>>>_

Sora sighed, shaking out all the built up tension before taking a deep breath and pushing open the large wooden doors leading into the principals office. The floor was carpeted in a sea green and chairs lined the walls filled with offenders waiting to be scolded. He spotted Zell and Cloud in the waiting area and chuckled softly to himself, returning their waves.

The secretary sitting at a large wooden desk smiled at him and directed him to a large metal door. She covered the receiver with one hand, "Knock first." She said softly before returning to her phone conversation.

He complied, rapping gently on the metal door.

"Come in." said the muffled voice from beyond the door.

Gathering all his courage he pushed open the door. Bracing himself for whatever it is the principal wanted to talk to him about. He hadn't done anything to get him into a lot of trouble in the seven months he had been there and had no idea why the principal, who had never bothered to seek him out before, would want to talk to him now.

The office was about half the size of the waiting room, same ugly carpet, same wooden desk. There were two chairs in front of the desk and he spotted Riku sitting in one looking agitated.

"Mr.Himura," the principal said motioning to the empty chair. She was a small woman, blond hair in a tight bun and half moon glasses perched neatly on the bridge of her nose, piercing green eyes that weren't friendly, but weren't particularly surly either.

He glanced quickly at Riku who gave him a reassuring nod before turning to the principal.

"Why exactly have you called us here Ms.Trepe?" he asked, bitterness coating his voice thickly.

She sighed, leaning back in her chair. "I might as well cut right to the chase. I'm sure you two have seen this." She said, pushing a copy of the flyer towards them.

Sora flinched as he looked at it, remembering the way the day had started. He swallowed nodding slowly.

Riku turned to look at Sora, sensing his discomfort.

"I have to say, this is most disappointing. Hikari High is an extremely prestigious school and we have a reputation for being the best. To have something this…lewd posted around our school is not good advertising. I can only imagine what the teachers, our sponsors, the other students have to say about this."

"It was the other students that put it there! Why don't you ask them?" Riku exclaimed angrily, shoving the flyer back towards her. "I don't see what this has to do with us."

"This method of calling attention to yourself, this showcasing of public affection is…most inappropriate."

"Wait a minute!" Riku exclaimed angrily, "Are you trying to say that _we_ did this? That _we _put up those pictures and made these? Are you _insane?_ Why, _Why_ the hell would we do that?"

Quistis unfolded her hands and shrugged, "That's what we're trying to find out here. Why would you want to disrupt the peacefull-"

"Peacefull?" Riku asked, voice cracking with suppressed anger and the ridiculousness of it all. "Peacefull? Open your eyes Ms.Trepe! This schools campus is anything but peacefull! Neither Sora nor I made these flyers or posted them among the school. That's the work of one of your _peacefull_ students. You'd know that if maybe you came over and actually looked at what was going on every know and then."

"I'd watch your mouth If I was you." Ms.Trepe said her temper beginning to rise.

Riku opened his mouth to say more but Sora put a hand on his arm, gently shaking his head no.

"We honestly do not know who put those flyers up, but it wasn't us. I don't think either Riku or myself would willingly subject ourselves to what's happening right now. We really don't mean any disrespect but with what's happened this morning it's inevitable that we're a little angry." Sora said, speaking for the first time in the meeting.

The principal sighed, leaning back in her chair. "Alright then. That's all, you can go back to class."

Sora sighed in relief, leaning against the large doors. He couldn't believe why the principal would even _think_ they would do something like that. Several students passed by, catching a glimpse of Sora before laughing openly and turning to begin the gossiping.

Sora groaned in defeat. _There's just no escaping it is there? _He began walking, head down, mind lost in thought. Riku had seemed angry in the principal's office, which had only increased Sora's worry.

"Sora."

Sora jumped at the familiar voice. Seeing Riku in front of him, looking so determined after Sora had just been thinking about him had startled the younger boy speechless.

"Can I talk to you?" Riku said, ignoring Sora's fidgety state of mind.

Sora nodded, following Riku around the corner to an alcove used to display science projects. It was private and out of the way but still in the open. _What would they say if they see us alone here together?_ Sora shook his head violently. They were already talking. He didn't care right? He had Riku, he had his friends, it didn't matter what everyone else was saying right?

"I'm sorry about this morning." Riku said slumping down against the wall so he sat cross-legged, leaning back against it. "I heard from Cloud, I came just when you left, I should've been there though."

Sora smiled lovingly at Riku following his boyfriend's previous actions and sitting down. "It's not your fault Riku, none of us expected that. I know I didn't. I couldn't even fully comprehend what was happening. I just froze. But, I didn't think the students would react as they did, they didn't have to be so mean about it."

Riku said nothing but turned to look at Sora. Of course he didn't expect that of the other students, Sora never thought of anyone being capable of doing cruel and selfish things to other people for no apparent reason. Riku could feel his level of adoration for the brunette by his side rising till it filled his whole body, and made his chest hurt. He didn't really mind what happened to him, but Sora didn't deserve any of this. Riku knew how cruel the students could be and Sora would soon find out the hard way.

Riku felt as if he'd explode. He didn't care what the other students said about him, as long as Sora was always near him like this, he'd be perfectly fine. Despite Sora's words, Riku knew the other students had hurt Sora. _Why would anyone purposely hurt Sora?_ He honestly couldn't imagine a reason why.

Riku grabbed Sora, kissing him fiercely, all his affection pulsating throughout his body, _demanding_ to be let out. When they pulled away they were both breathless and Sora had this dumb grin on his face that made Riku want to grab him again, but the days events, and the inevitable events Riku knew would come kept him from doing so.

"We've come so far Sora. We've beaten so many things before." Riku said, hands gripping Sora's shoulders, strong enough to get his point across but gentle enough as to not hurt him. "We're not going to let this beat us. Promise me we wont let this beat us."

Sora smiled, wrapping his arms around Riku's waist in a hug. "Of course not Riku, I promise it won't." he said thinking Riku may have been afraid for nothing. _How much could they possibly do?_

Riku allowed his hands to slide around Sora's neck, neither willing to let go, even after several minutes had passed.

>>>

Riku idly roamed the halls, not quite feeling like going to class and definitely not feeling like going home yet. He could feel his temper rising steadily with each and every under the breath remark people made as they passed. They were always gone when he looked up though, never owning up and facing him. No one had blatantly taunted or insulted him and he could only hope they were showing Sora the same courtesy.

He had lived in Traverse Town all his life and knew most of the students since elementary school, but Sora was an outsider, only here for a little half a year. There was no doubt in his mind that _someone_ would say something incredibly stupid before this incident had passed, and what worried Riku the most is he wasn't sure on how Sora would react. He had seemed sad, hurt and then indifferent but one could never be too sure.

He turned the corner only to come face to face with a door, every square inch _covered_ with flyers. _Hikari High Homo's_ seemed to jump out at him mockingly and he let out something akin to a growl as he lunged at the door, ripping the papers off fiercely. He dropped them at his feet only to find the door still completely covered. No matter how many he ripped off there was more. There would always be more…

The bell beginning lunch reverberated through the halls and Riku gave up trying to rid the door of the cruel flyers. He really didn't feel like having two thousand eyes glaring at him and decided to spend the lunch period in the art room. He hurried to the room just as the students started leaving class, drifting in and shutting the door behind him.

"Hello Riku," Ariel said, turning to smile at him before returning to her painting.

Just like always he felt completely and totally at home, instantly safe. He dropped his book bag onto a chair, mumbling his reply as he walked over to see what she was drawing. As he approached he past the trash pail, which was filled to the brim with crumpled flyers she had obviously tore down from wherever Namine had stuck them.

"Ready for the Competition Wednesday?" she asked knowing fully well Riku had thought of nothing else in the weeks leading up to the competition.

"You bet," He said with a smile, momentarily forgetting his problems. "First Place here we come."

She laughed lightly, "Cocky are we?"

"I prefer _confident_," he said with a smile.

There was silence after that, the only sound was of the teachers gentle strokes on the canvas. She stopped, putting down the brush and turning to give Riku her full attention. "Are you alright?" she asked concerned.

Riku sighed dropping down into a seat, _Is there no escaping this?_. He nodded reassuringly. "Is there _anyone_ in Traverse Town that _doesn't_ know?"

"Do you know who did this?" She asked seriously.

Riku grunted. "The principal seems to think it was us. It was Namine. I'm sure of it. Don't have any proof though…"

Ariel shook her head. "Unbelievable…"

"Hm…" Riku said as he began to play with one of the brushes.

"How's Sora?"

Riku put the brush down, looking up at her. "I'm not sure. He seems ok, just…different."

>>>

"If you move this variable here, then put this over this and divide it by that you should get the answer."

"Ohh," Sora nodded in enlightenment. "I understand now. Thanks for explaining!"

He picked up his books and made his way out of the math classroom. He didn't really need the explanation so much as he needed an excuse to take his time. He'd prefer not to be stuck in a crowd of hungry students who all seemed to hate him.

His stalling had worked and by the time he emerged from the math department the halls were deserted. He hummed as he walked, keeping his eyes straight ahead in an attempt to ignore the flyers on the walls. His heart dropped when he heard muffled voices and saw a crowd at his locker.

His heartbeat returned to normal when he recognized the group as Rikku, Yuffie, Aerith and Zell. _Stupid Sora…What're you afraid of?_

"Hey guys, what's-" he stopped, eyes resting on the black writing that now adorned his locker. Zell was kneeling down with a bowl of water and Yuffie and Aerith worked, furiously scrubbing at the stubborn paint while Rikku ran back and forth between the hall and the janitor's closet, swapping dirty rags for clean ones.

"Sora…" Zell said quietly.

The usually happy boy walked somberly over to the locker, stoic faced and trembling he ran a hand along the black letters.

"We don't know who did it." Yuffie said quietly.

"We wanted to clean it off before you came…"Aerith said equally quiet.

They had managed to clean off the bottom portion of the word, but the top was painstakingly clear.

"We're sorry Sora." Rikku said as she approached them with clear rags.

Sora took a deep breath, composing himself enough to offer them a weak smile. "It's alright. You guys don't have to do this, it's ok." He continued smiling as he did his combination, causing his friends to jump at the sound of the locker door slamming into the others as he forcefully threw it open. He carelessly tossed his books into the locker before slamming the door shut again. He turned to his friends again, a smile so obviously fake adorning his features. "It's alright." He repeated. "Really."

>>>

Sora closed the door to the bathroom stall, shutting his eyes tightly. The word seemed to be written on the back of his eyelids and would not release his mind. _Fag…_ He thought of the horrible remnant of the word his friends had tried so hard to remove before he saw it.

A simple three letter word that held so much power.

"Hikari High Home…The Fag of Traverse Town." He said out loud. The words burned his tongue.

The door opened and someone slowly walked into the bathroom. "Sora?" a voice asked slightly worried.

Sora immediately identified it as either Cloud or Zell, composing himself and taking a deep breath, opening a door to face his friend.

"I'm fine real-" he stopped, eyes widening as he saw the person standing there. "L-Leon!" he asked confused and slightly taken aback.

The man merely grunted. "You didn't come to lunch. The others were worried, Cloud was going on and on about it being the end of the world because you weren't eating. It was either find you or kill him."

"Oh…" Sora said, looking at his shoes nervously. This was the first time he was alone with Leon, and it was impossible to not be a little nervous. The man just oozed unsociability and his intense 'stay away from me' vibe kept even most of the teachers away.

"It bothers you, the flyers." Leon stated leaning against one of the sinks.

Sora shrugged, "I suppose, not that much-"

"No," Leon said leveling his gaze so that his eyes met with Sora's. "It bothers you. You'd have to blind to not notice that. We're worried about you, don't hide things from you're friends."

Sora looked up, mouth open in surprise. Had _Leon_ just _implied_ that he didn't despise Sora's guts? Hearing Leon refer to him as a friend was something he had _never_ thought would happen. He leaned against the stall of the bathroom. Not everyone hated him, there _were_ people on his side.

The knowledge that he could emerge from the bathroom with a friend behind him was enough to give him the courage to enter the lunchroom. To ignore the rude remarks and wide eyed stares.

As he approached the table, full of faces all welcoming him back, happy to see him, he knew that everything would eventually be ok. And he would wait for that day, with Riku by his side, and his friends cheering him on.

>

_A/N: This chapter was actually supposed to be much **much** longer…but I decided to cut it here…because ur butt is probably numb by now (I know mine is). I'm so sorry this took so long! Every time I started typing my Microsoft Word would stop responding and the program would end and I'd get frustrated and beat my computer and nothing would come out. I hope it was worth the wait…I'm sorry again!_

_Please Review! Thank you very much for reading!_


	21. Cruel Intentions Pt 2

_**Beautiful Disaster**_

_**By: ScarletDreams **_

**_Disclaimer: All characters, most places things etc. belong to Square-Enix and Disney…or whatever, I _don't own anything…so…don't sue me ok?**

_/If you listen  
__(Listen listen)  
__Listen close  
__(Beat by Beat)  
__You can hear when the heart stops  
__(I've saved the pieces)  
__When it broke  
__(And ground them all to dust)/_

**Chapter Twenty-Two **

_Cruel Intentions pt 2_

"Sora you showed up!" Cloud exclaimed jumping up as he spotted the boy entering the locker room. "I thought you would've taken the day off for sure."

Sora smiled, sweat dropping as he dropped his bag onto the bench and went to where a hamper full of towels sat just waiting for him to wash them. "Uh…No, I have work to do."

"We won't hold it against you if you-Ow! What the hell was that for Leon?" Cloud exclaimed as the brunette slapped him hardly in the back of the head.

"Sora has responsibilities. The world doesn't stop for a simple crisis." Leon said walking towards the doors.

"Yea yea, sheesh have a heart." Cloud mumbled as he followed Leon out to resume practice.

Sora smiled as they left. Those two really seemed perfect for each other. He turned to the basket of towels left over from the weekend. There was a lot of work to be done, hopefully it would take his mind off of things.

Elbow deep in soapy water he was able to feel like, even if only for a little while, things were normal. The final buzz of the dryer signaled that his work was done and he tossed the warm towels into the hamper before climbing upstairs to the locker room.

He had taken his time washing the towels today and the team was already in the showers when he emerged. He walked over, and began placing towels in outstretched hands. It was an easy job, requiring no serious thinking and his mind couldn't help but wander. There were bruises adorning the Blitzball players arms and abdomens, even some of their faces were slightly swollen due to their intense training.

_Riku used to play Blitzball…I wonder if he got bruises like that._ He thought. _Riku doesn't seem very athletic…I wonder how he looked in the uniform_. The thought sent Sora into a giggle that he quickly suppressed after registering that he had not let go of the towel Seifer was grabbing.

"Are you looking at me?" Seifer asked angrily.

Sora starred at him wide-eyed.

"Were you looking at me you fucking fag?" Seifer exclaimed quickly wrapping the towel around his waist, jumping over the ledge and pushing Sora into the wall, one hand on his collar.

"Leave him Alone!" Zell exclaimed wrapping his towel around his waist as well and attempting to make his way over to them.

"Stay outta this chicken wuss," Irvine said pushing him back.

Zell lunged at him fist first and the two began to fight, several of the others friends jumping in until half the Blitzball team had joined into the fray.

There was a thud and Sora turned to look, mistaking the action as an attempt to look at where the towel stopped Seifer punched Sora in the face, bringing his knee to the other boy's stomach.

"I don't do that homo shit you hear me!" he exclaimed bringing his fist down on Sora once again.

"What the hell is going on?" Cloud exclaimed pushing Seifer off of Sora as Squall broke up the fight that was currently happening in the showers.

"This Fag-" Seifer began

"CONTROL YOURSELF SEIFER!" Cloud exclaimed angrily. "Go to Cid's office now!"

"What! He was looking at me!"

"GO!" Cloud yelled again, pointing at the door as Leon removed all the boys from the showers.

"Are you alright?" The blonde asked holding a towel to Sora's busted lip.

"I wasn't looking at him! I just got lost in thought."

"Seifer's an ass hole." Cloud spat. "A homophobe if there ever was one. We'll take care of him. Just get yourself cleaned up ok?"

Sora nodded as he pressed the towel to his lip despite the stinging.

>>>

_I didn't do anything wrong_. Sora thought as he began the long walk from the school to his house. _So why do they hate me?_

His heart dropped as he saw a car pull up beside him. Seifer's parting words had stuck with him for some reason. _This isn't over_.

The window rolled down revealing blonde spiky hair, much to his relief. "You sure you don't need a ride Sora?"

Sora smiled at Cloud appreciativly. "No, I'm ok. It's only a few blocks."

"Alright…" Cloud said reluctantly as the car slowly pulled away.

It was mid winter and the sun had long set before he left. Much to his delight it had began snowing again. It was windy, and the snow that accumulated on the ground was tossed into the air, creating little clouds that floated idly along the streets.

He turned a corner, deciding to take a shortcut along the shopping center. He felt something hard and cold hit his face and he turned to the direction it came from. It was dark but he could make out the form of someone walking towards him slowly.

"Seifer," Sora spat glaring at the blonde before him. Particles of snow still clung to his gloves labeling him as the culprit. Sora wiped the snow from his cheek and shook his head continuing to walk.

He saw Irvine approaching him from the front. _Great_ He thought turning slightly so he had both of them in his vision. _Just what I need_.

"You tryin' to walk away from me, ya little homo?" he said with a sneer, shaking the snow from his hands.

Sora grit his teeth, clenching his hands into fists at his sides. If worst came to worst, he was sure he could hold his own against Seifer and Irvine. "I would appreciate it if you didn't refer to me that way. And for you're information, in the showers I was not looking at you or any other part of your body."

Seifer approached him, grabbing him by the scarf and pulling him closer. "Don't get smart ass on me!" he exclaimed angrily before pushing Sora away. "I bet you liked dressing up in the girls uniform. You probably got a kick outta seein' me in one too eh? Sick fuck."

Sora glared at him, he had kept his temper throughout the whole ordeal, but as worst came to worst he was just about ready to hurt someone. "Whatever." He mumbled. _You don't waste time on people like Seifer, his skulls to thick to get anything other than what's already there._

"I told you it wasn't over, remember?" Seifer said with a sneer. "Now let me show you what happens when you piss me off."

Sora bit his lip as several boys approached, several he recognized as benchwarmers for the Blitzball team. _Two guys I could've handled_. He thought looking around. _This many, I don't know about_.

He wasn't sure which fist came first but it hit with a force that sent him stumbling backwards into Seifer, and then they all began hitting at once. _There are lights, people…why isn't anyone stopping this? _Sora thought as several people stopped to watch and then continued walking.

Someone punched him in the face, his ring sliding painfully across his cheek and breaking the skin. A knee in the stomach sent him sprawling onto the ground where they continued to kick and stomp him until he gave up attempting to rise to his feet again. He shut his eyes tightly and waited until it was over.

>>>

Riku pulled up into his driveway, removing his bag from the back seat and heading into the house. Nothing, including the events of that day, could dull the excitement and anticipation of the rapidly approaching contest. He just wanted to get inside, do a few touch ups on the painting and call Sora to make sure he was alright.

_Call Sora!_ He thought, dashing back to the car. He found his cell phone in the dashboard and laughed at his own absentmindedness before shoving it in his pocket and heading to the door. He opened it with ease, finding no passed out father behind it. _Guess that means he didn't find any money_. He thought somewhat victoriously, taking off his coat and throwing it onto the sofa along with his bag.

He stopped at the foot of the stairs. The usually quiet house was filled with a sound he wasn't familiar with, something akin to…shredding? The aura emanating from the walls was nothing short of unnerving and he found himself rushing, two steps at a time up the stairs. He hurried through the halls, stopping a foot away from his open door. The light was on and several pieces of white paper lay torn outside his door way. He approached only to find his father in the center of his room.

His eyes widened at the sight, everywhere he saw remnants of what was once his art, his hard work, his _life_. Pieces of white still clung to his walls where the pictures had been mercilessly ripped off and destroyed. Pieces of white were falling as if snow around his father and Ansem smirked tossing the front and back covers of Riku's sketchbook at him.

Riku didn't say anything, only bent down to pick up the plastic pieces, running his fingers along the destroyed binding. He looked up at his father then, a mixture of pain, anger and confusion tossed into his gaze. The older mans smirk only widened as he stepped aside, revealing the one thing still in tact, the easel stood there, the square shape of the canvas revealing itself under the violet curtain.

Riku stood quickly, rushing over, flinching at the sound of white papers being crunched under his feet. _Please…oh please don't have touched it_. He grabbed the curtain with both hands. The canvas, fell apart there, the pieces unevenly and inexpertly cut, stab marks covering the once beautiful surface. Riku fell to his knees, picking up what was left of all his hopes. He turned then, eyes clouded with fire and lunged.

>>>

Only after the last of the footsteps had disappeared did Sora move, or try to. He groaned at the pain that seemed to be coming from everywhere. He couldn't stand or even hoped to walk and settled for dragging himself along the sidewalk, hands and face numbed by spending who knows how long buried in snow. He propped himself up against the wall and rested his head on it to catch his breath.

Several people passed by, giving him odd (and the occasional annoyed) looks. _I need to get home._ He thought, attempting again to stand up, he succeeded only to crumple back toward the earth as soon as he attempted to take a step.

Calling his mother was out of the question. She was probably at work, and needless to say she'd be worried out of her mind. Probably call the police to track down each and every one of those guys, yell at the school and then have a "conference" with each of them herself.

The door to a small grocery store opened up and a woman a little older than him emerged. She looked both ways before dashing across the street and kneeling in front of him. "Are you alright?" she exclaimed genuinely worried.

Sora looked up at her with the intention of smiling, but his bruised face could not handle the movement. He attempted the nod but the movement was slow and barely noticeable.

"Is there someone I could call to pick you up? Oh! I know I'll call the police." She said jumping up to do just that.

Sora's hand shot out, grabbing onto her arm and she got back on her knees, looking at him sympathetically.

"You don't want me to call the police?"

He shook his head. _A lot of good that'll do_. He thought bitterly, immediately feeling bad. This woman was trying to help him. "C-Call Riku." He said, but his throat was dry and scratchy and it came out as more of a squeak.

"Excuse me?" She said leaning closer. "I couldn't hear you. Can you please say that again."

He cleared his throat. "Call Riku." He said, his voice deep and scratchy, nothing like his. He pointed to his school bag, which she grabbed, and, after mumbling a quick apology began to rummage through, before emerging with Sora's cell phone.

"Riku…Riku." She said as she scrolled through the numbers. "Aha! Found it." She pressed a button and sat down next to Sora, leaning so he could hear the phone as well.

_Too many rings…_He thought as he felt himself drifting in and out of consciousness.

The woman frowned at the sixth ring, and Riku's answering service came on. The woman tried again, with no response, and third time with still nothing. "They're not picking up." She said apologetically.

Sora sighed deeply, gently taking the phone from the woman and pushing redial. Riku _had_ to pick up because he'd promised he'd always be there, whenever Sora needed him.

And now was when Sora needed him the most.

>>>

Riku stumbled back onto the bed after an extremely hard blow from his father sent him flying through the air. He let out a noise similar to an animal growl and lunged for his lamp, holding it threateningly over his father's head.

He stopped, inches before the glass connected with the scalp. Shaking violently with realization. The emotion he held for his father at this moment was stronger than fear, stronger than hatred. It was an unnamed emotion that his itself in the depths of ones soul, never emerging for most people. Only showing itself when one was about to demonstrate the darkest capabilities of human nature.

Ansem looked at Riku daringly, his yellow eyes boring into Riku's aquamarine ones. Riku saw his reflection in them. A distorted combination of anger and hate, hostility and malice. For a moment he saw the one thing he had never hoped to see. He saw himself and his father, and for once, he couldn't tell the difference.

Riku dropped the lamp then. Getting up and glaring angrily at his father, fists clenched at his sides. Then he was running, out the room, and down the hall, flying down the stairs and across the living room to where he flung open the door and ran out into the winter night.

He didn't know where he was running, but he couldn't stop. His shoes slipped on the icy sidewalk but he caught his balance and continued running. He felt the air rushing past him as he sprinted down the Traverse streets, eyes shut tightly to keep the angry tears gathering at bay.

He left his father in the room, smirking at his tiny victory. He left the pictures he had once loved and put everything he had into, reduced to scraps of paper that meant nothing, and, thrown idly over the tabletop, he left his winter coat with a ringing cell phone in the pocket.

And what had to be the worst day in either boy's lives, ended quietly beneath a curtain of crushed dreams and broken promises.

>

_A/N: Finally Finished this chapter. I meant to post it the same day as chapter twenty-one…but I couldn't finish it in time. Ok…the torture Riku and Sora time is officially **over. **For the most part... _

_Thanks for reading, and please review!_


	22. The Best Is Yet to Come

**_Beautiful Disaster_**

**_By: ScarletDreams_**

**_Disclaimer: All characters, most places things etc. belong to Square-Enix and Disney…or whatever, I don't own anything…so…don't sue me ok?_**

_/If you could lock the past away  
Step back through the doorway  
This ride has just begun  
If I could change your point of view  
Is there someway I can show you  
The best is yet to come./_

**Chapter Twenty-Three  
**_The Best Is Yet to Come_

Riku opened his eyes, sitting up slowly and leaning against the headboard of the bed. He had went to sleep last night hoping to wake up and discover everything a passing dream. He sighed, running a hand through his messy silver hair and looked down at the too large bed and the too large pajama pants he was wearing-both of which were not his. The walls of the room were painted a soft lavander and the white curtains blew away from the large open window, revealing a nice neighborhood where the children walked to the bus stop alone while their parents went to work unworried. This is definitley not mine. He thought, throwing the white covers off of him and standing up. The lavander carpet felt good against his bare feet and his uniform lay washed and pressed over a bench beside the large vanity. He walked over to the mirror, staring at his reflection. His hair was wild and tangled, but the horrible look that had been in his eyes last night was gone.

"You know, supposedly it's bad luck to stare at your reflection for more than a minute." Riku turned, startled at the voice. Ariel stood in the doorway, fully dressed in her work clothes holding a tray containing breakfast she had obviously woken up extra early to cook. Riku sighed, moving to sit back on the bed where he rested his elbows on his knees, folding his hands and resting his forehead on those. Ariel set the tray on the vanity, joining Riku on the bed. She put an arm around him comfortingly. "We can press charges if you like, I'm sure we'll get him for something, and their will be other art shows, theirs another one in May, if you start now I'm sure you can create something by then."

Riku just shook his head, not looking up. "It's not that easy." he said quietly.

Ariel just nodded. "Yes, I suppose it's not." They sat there, in silence before Ariel clapped her hands together. "Alright then! You get dressed and eat breakfast and I have to make a few quick phonecalls." she said before dissapeering out the room.

Riku leaned against the back of the bed, folding his arms behind his head. Seventeen years of work...destroyed just like that. Was their really any purpose for them at all? Did I just waste my time?. Riku sighed again. There were too many questions, not enough answers and he was starting to feel very, very small. Sora... He thought, envisioning the smiling face of his boyfriend. If their was anyone that could make him feel better now, it was definitley him. He didn't even have to do anything. Just being there would be enough. Riku glanced at the clock, if he dressed now he would have enough time to go talk to Sora before school started. He smiled and quickly began to dress, Sora would make everything better. He dressed in record time, leaving the food untouched.

"Woah! Leaving so soon?" Ariel said hanging up the phone as Riku headed out.

He stopped, turning to her. "Thank you very much, for everything. I'll find someway to pay you back."

"You don't have to pay me"

"I want to." Riku said quietly. "You didn't have to open your door last night, or let me in or any of the stuff you did for me. I want to find a way to make up for all the trouble I've caused you"

Ariel said nothing but smiled and nodded moving aside so Riku could gain access to the door. "Don't quit drawing." He paused in the door way.

"What?" he asked confused.

"That's how you can pay me back. Never quit drawing if you still truly love it." She said leaning against the side of the door. Riku nodded, smiling understandingly before turning around and leaving.

"Good Luck." she whispered as she watched his back jog steadily down the block.

>>>

Emmy knocked softly on the closed wooden door, neither getting nor expecting an answer. Ever since she had picked Sora up last night all he did was lay in his bed and stare at the ceiling expressionless. She pushed open the door, putting on her smile and closing it behind her. "Good Morning Love! I made your favorite for breakfast!" she said waving the tray of french toast in front of him to tempt him with the sweet aromas, just like she always did when she made his favorite. He sat up when she entered, resting his empty blue eyes on her. He smiled and nodded, motioning for her to put it down on his desk. That was not the smile she had been hoping to see. The wide beaming grin that infected everyone around him and made them grin too. She had seen this smile before, and it made her want to cry more than it made her want to smile. She put the tray on the table, her hands clenched into fists at her sides and sat on the bed beside him. "You don't have to pretend." He cocked his head to the side, looking at her in confusion. "Don't pretend you're happy!" She exclaimed "I know you're not and you don't have to act like you are for the sake of everyone else! You've been hurt, and you've done nothing to deserve it! But you're not alone, you have people here to listen to you and to comfort you, so go ahead and be sad. Cry if you want to, be angry if you need to. Just...don't...don't pretend nothings wrong."

Sora was quiet. She looked up at him and he turned away quickly. Eyes, moist with tears he wouldn't let fall scanned the room, for something, anything for him to rest them on.

"Sora?" Emmy asked tentatively, afraid she had scared him away.

"What if I want to pretend?" He said quietly, turning to look at her with misty blue eyes. "What if I want to act like everything is still ok even if it will never be?"

"Things will be ok, but things can't get better if you don't face them."

"Things won't change because they'll always be people like Seifer!"

Emmy narrowed her eyes at Sora, "And you'll let people like him beat you?"

Sora sighed, leaning back against his headboard. "I don't have the strength to fight them anymore." He swallowed, wiping away the few tears that had escaped. "Are me and Riku so bad?"

Emmy took a deep breath, moving so that she was laying stretched out beside Sora. She pulled him to her and he rested his head on her shoulder breathing in and allowing himself to relax with the one constant in his life. "I don't know. I can't even tell you what I think. It's new, and different yes, but it's a refreshing change from the ordinary. What you and Riku have is so powerful it scares people. You affect them. Whether it be in a good or bad way you affect them and thats what matters. So the right question here isn't if it's good or bad but if it's worth it. I've seen the way you look at that boy, I've seen how you get when he's mentioned. So don't try to tell me you don't think it's worth it. This is all new, different. People will change. You'll see. And if they don't, it's their loss"

She looked down at Sora, who offered her a smile. It was weak, but it was real. _That's right._ She thought quietly _Babysteps._

"Thanks." Sora said quietly, reaching over to grab some breakfast.

Emmy smiled, getting up and heading towards the door. "No Problem."

>>>

Riku climbed the steps leading to the front door of Sora's house. He hesitated for a moment but without a legitimate reason for him to falter, he quickly shoved away the self doubt and rang the doorbell. Seconds passed like minutes and Riku contemplated ringing the doorbell again. The large green door opened and he suddenly found himself face to face with Sora's mom. He blushed, remembering the horrible first meeting at the dinner. Her eyes were dull and she seemed worn.

"Good morning Riku." She said, offering him a smile.

"Good morning Ms. Himura, may I speak with Sora please?" Riku asked minding his manners in case the impression he left before was a bad one.

"Sora's in bed. He won't be going to school today." She said, sighing a little and leaning against the door frame.

"In bed? Is he sick?" Riku asked, voice laced with worry.

Emmy raised an eyebrow in confusion, "Don't you know what happened last night?" Riku's expression, a reflection of her own, answered her question for her. _Guess not._ She thought, moving aside to give him access to the house. "Maybe you should come in for a bit."

>>>

Riku bit his lip outside of Sora's doorway, hand hanging over the door knob. He took several deep breaths, before, with a few words of mental encouragement he pushed the door open. The room wasn't well lit, but the sunlight streaming in through the open window provided enough light to make it so that you didn't trip over the piles of clothes and books decorating the rooms floor. A tray with a barely touched breakfast lay haphazardly on the edge of the nightstand. He couldn't help but smile as he fixed the tray and moved away some clothes to create a space for him beside the bed. Sora was on his back, eyes shut tightly, mouth fixed in a natural pout. Several bruises adorned his face and arms causing Riku to inwardly flinch at the pain Sora had been caused, and the fact that he had done nothing. "Sora...my Sora." Riku said softly, brushing a lock of hair from the sleeping boys face. One blue eye opened, resting on Riku briefly before closing again. Sora raised himself up, leaning against the headboard for support. His movements were slow and wobbly, his eyes dull and sad. "Good Morning." Riku said kneeling beside the bed so he was level with Sora. "How are you feeling?" he asked, trying to keep his voice from faltering. It was as if Sora was glaring right through him, a look Riku was not used to getting from his normally cheerful boyfriend.

"Like I got run over by a truck and then trampled by a herd of elephants...twice."

Riku laughed nervously, sitting beside Sora, grabbing his hand in his. Instead of soft and warm it was cold and clammy. Sora took his hand away, wrapping his arms around himself protectively.

"I called you yesterday...so many times." he said so softly Riku almost missed it. But he didn't. Riku dug into his pockets, searching for his cellphone to check for missed calls. But there was no cell phone. No cell phone, no jacket, no bookbag. I must have left it when I ran out of the house. Sora's words echoed in his ears, reality falling on him like a piano from the sky. He had let Sora down. He had promised to always be there for him. _And I wasn't_. Riku thought bitterly, angry. Why? Even he didn't know. Angry at himself, at his father, at fate for putting them in these situations.

"I'm so sorry." Riku said quietly, grabbing the other boy in a tight hug. "I'm so sorry Sora. My father and I were fighting, I ran out the house, I left everything, I had no idea"

Sora smiled softly, inhaling the other boys scent. The affirmation that Riku hadn't abandoned him renewed his hope somehow. "Fighting with your father? Why?" Sora asked, reluctantly pulling away to see his boyfriends face. His expression wasn't sad or angry, just a sort of melancholy acceptance.

"He..was drunk...I think. He destroyed my art, all of it. My drawing, paintings, my sketchbook, all torn to bits." he bit his lip, saying it was like affirming it's legitimacy. Last night was not a dream. His painting, his chance in the contest, his hopes and dreams all destroyed, lying on his bedroom floor. His life work destroyed in a matter of minutes, replace with an irrepairable relationship with the only family he had.

"Are you alright? Where is he now? You're not going back there right!" Sora exclaimed, inspecting Riku for wounds.

Riku frowned, furrowing his eyebrows in frustrations. "It doesn't matter! Don't change the subject! Who did this?"

Sora scowled, folding his arms across his chest and leaning against the headboard. He turned his gaze toward the window. "What if I don't want to talk about it? What if I want to change the subject instead of dwelling on the bad all the time!" _Why are you being so mean? _Sora asked himself, he knew he was just taking his frustrations out on Riku, but he didn't make any move to apologize.

Riku's look softened and again Sora found himself in the other boys warm embrace. "I'm sorry. That was a stupid question. Let's not talk about it, let's not talk about anything"

Sora rested his head on Riku's chest, clinging softly to the rough fabric of his blazer. He opened his eyes, his gaze resting on the clock. One look at the clock told Sora Riku had to go. "You're going to be late." he said softly.

"So?" Riku said resting his chin on the other boys head. "It doesn't matter."

"You have to go to school Riku." he said, feeling like a traitor to himself the minute the words left his mouth. He didn't want Riku to go, he wanted to stay this way forever. It didn't hurt so much when Riku held him.

"No I don't." Riku said quietly.

Sora scowled at his boyfriends stubornness. His scowl turned into a smirk as he came up with an idea. "But Rikuuu, If you're late you'll get detention and you won't be able to come see me after school." he whined.

Riku looked at him for a moment, before chuckling a bit. He ruffled the brunette's hair and placed a chaste kiss on his forehead. "All right all right I'm going. I'll be back later" he said before placing a lingering kiss on Sora's lips and slowly leaving the room.

Sora smilled to himself softly. It was nowhere near his million watt grin but it was enough. _I just may be able to face this after all._

_>>>_

Riku's eyes narrowed as they scanned the courtyard. They quickly settled on what he was looking for in the far corner of the snow covered lawn. On one of the wooden picnic tables Seifer sat with Irvine, laughing and flirting with some girls while the rest of his clique entertained themselves by pelting the freshaman with snowballs.

Riku clenched his fists so tight his nails left indents in his palms. He walked with a bounce in his step one only got when they had a purpose, or in his case was about to do something incrediblly stupid. He was closer now, meerly yards away. The laughing stopped as they saw him approaching.

Seifer looked on with a raised eyebrow, his gaze clearly showcassing his amusement. "Well, well well if it isn't Hikari's own Homo. Where's your boyfriend, not feeling well today?" Seifer said tauntingly, earning himself a few snickers from his friends.

Riku let out something akin to a growl and was about to pounce on the other boy when he felt a strong hand grip his shoulder. It was friendly but death promising if disobeyed. He looked up into the icy blue eyes of none other than Leon, who mouthed the words _relax_.

"I need to talk to you for a moment Riku." Leon said quietly, his glare keeping Seifer and his group silent. "Now"

Before Riku could protest Leon had spun him around and was pushing him towards the opposite side of the courtyard. When they were far enough away Leon let go of Riku, leaning against the bark of a large oak tree. "That was stupid." he said in that calm quiet way of his that was somehow always heard.

Riku scowled. "What the hell, who cares! You should've just let me break his jaw!" he exclaimed angrily, before adding more quietly "It's the least he deserves after all he's done"

"Of course we totally and completly agree with you, I'd like to hit him a couple of times myself." the ever present Cloud said from his place sprawled out on the only snowless branch of the huge tree. "But we can't all go punching the people we hate, no matter how justified we are." He jumped out of the tree, landing beside Leon before giggling quietly to himself. "I said something smart."

Leon rolled his eyes. "Tell that to Seifer! Sora's lying in a bed, beaten to a pulp because"

"And what exactly would you ending up right there next to him do?" Leon said, quietly, calmly, logically, like always.

Riku bit his lip to keep his anger in check. _I know this...I know it all. But...it's just not fair!_

Cloud smiled empathetically putting an arm around the shorter boys shoulders. " I understand you're frustrated and angry. You have a reason to be. But you have to trust us. We know what happened, and we have a plan!" he said in that hushed excited way he spoke that always led you to believe he had something really great and important to say.

Riku sighed, looking up at Cloud before nodding reluctantly. The bell rang and students began to head towards the school, passing them without a glance. "Fine...I'll see you later then." he said walking toward the building.

Leon pushed himself of the tree, raising an eyebrow at Cloud. "We do?"

Cloud grinned. "I'm working on it."

>>>

Riku opened his locker, grabbing the books he did have. All around him people were rushing to lunch, leaving little time for snide remarks or rude comments. He closed the the door and turned to find himself face to face with a brown haired sophmore with one green eye and one blue eye. He recognized her as Yuna, a relative of Rikku, shy and studious, dedicating all her free time to working at the office.

"You're Riku right?" she asked, her voice soft and timid. He nodded and she handed him a large manilla envelope. "This is for you, from the hospitality commitee." she said before turning to leave. _The Hospitalitee Comitee?_ Riku thought confused, they usually handled things like welcoming new students and organizing the opening assemblies. _What could they possibly want with me?_

"Riku." Yuna called causing the boy to look up from the envelope. "Uhm...that is, Not everyone is against you guys. Tell Sora not to give up, because a lot of people are rooting for you both."

Riku smiled softly at the girl who smiled back, dissapeering in the throng of students before he could begin to verbilize his gratitude. _Wait till I tell Sora._ he thought, before heading towards the lunchroom. When he arrived, their usual table was unoccupied, but the book bags layed (or in Cloud's case thrown) over the chairs told Riku he wouldn't be eating lunch alone today.

He placed his book bag on the ground and turned the envelope over in his hands. He ran a finger under the fold, tearing it open and pulling out the wad of papers inside. He unfolded the first one, a short letter on off white paper summarizing their reason for contacting him.

**Dear Mr. Riku Destati,  
Upon reviewing you're living enviorment and a reccomendation from your teacher we have decided to provide you with a spot in the student dorms for the remainder of this year so that you will be better able to concentrate on your academics while expressing and nurturing your artistic talents.**

Riku looked up from the letter, blinking hard before reading it again. Attatched to it was a thin card, obviously the room key with the room number and building engraved on it beneath the school insigna. He looked up, catching the gaze of Ariel who sat at a table with several other teachers. He smiled gratefully at her and she meerly winked before turning to her other teachers.

"Yo Riku whats up!" Cloud said approaching the table with the rest of the group. "Heeey Student dorms, cool."

Riku nodded, folding the papers up and putting them away. I'll never have to go back to that house again. Riku thought, mustering up all his self control to restrain from crying out in triumph and jumping on the table.

"How's Sora?" Aerith asked worried.

Riku smiled. "He's not one hundred percent okay just yet, but he's getting there."

"You're going to visit him after school right?" Yuffie said biting into her lunch. "Can we come too?"

"I'm not to sure if he's up to visitors."

"Awww what could possibly be bad about Sora seeing how many people love and support him?" Yuffie exclaimed pouting.

Riku shrugged, giving in. "Fine...we'll all go."

"Oh, Leon and I have to go to an emergency blitzball thing real quick, handle some buisness." Cloud said smiling elbowing Riku to show this had something to do with what they had talked about earlier. "Can you guys wait for us in the stadium? It'd be quick, promise.

Riku nodded, suddenly feeling at peace with everything. No matter how bad things were, they would always get better. With his own problems out of the way he could focus all his energy into, with the help of their friends, showing Sora the better side of Traverse Town.

>>>

"You ready for this?" Leon asked leaning in the doorwayof Cid's office

"Of course." Cloud claimed flashing the peace sign.

"Heh" Leon said softly running a hand through his hair. Cloud was never ready for anything. He'd always just wing it, and everything would somehow always turn out his way. It had to be a talent.

"C'mon ladies, the crowds gettin' restless." Cid said standing up and walking towards Leon. "You sure this'll go over well? Theres only one more game till Nationals"

Cloud smirked, "It doesn't matter."

"Hey whats the big idea!" a pig tailed sophmore exclaimed when she saw the three emerge from the office. "Why'd you call us here?"

"And thankyou for volunteering!" Cloud exclaimed grabbing the girls hand and easily pulling her to her feet.

"Volunteer? I didn't volunteer for anything!" She exclaimed, looking around the stadium worriedly.

"Relax sweetie, I just need you to read something for us. You can read can't you?"

The girl scowled flipping her pigtail behind her. "Of course I can read." she spat.

"Alright then, here." Cid said shoving the book in the girls hands before going to sit in the bleachers.

"You can't possibly be serious!" she exclaimed looking to Leon (the only sane one) for confirmation. "This is a dictionary"

"Really!" Cloud exclaimed feigning surprise. "I had no idea!"

Leon rolled his eyes. "Just read it."

The girl looked bewildered before sucking her teeth and complying. "_Tau-tog_, a type of fish that is-"

"Skip to the highlighted part love." Cloud said rolling his eyes.

The girl blushed as several members of the team laughed. "_Team_-two or more players on one side of a game, a group of people trained or organized to work together."

"Wonderful!" Cloud exclaimed clapping loudly. "Read that last part one more time for the deaf and the dumb"

"A group of people trained or organized to work together."

Cloud smiled like a proud parent and patted her on the head. "Excellent. Anyone know what that means, examples, anything?"

"Us?" a boy said from the first row. "We trained and we work together."

"Us." Cloud repeated laughing a little, "Us!" he exclaimed turning to Leon, "WRONG"

Several people in the bleachers jumped at the sudden change in volume.

"We are not a team. We may be trained but we do not work together. Teammates are supposed to rely on each other. Not fear each other. Not suffer because of each other." Cloud said, his eyes resting on Seifer at this final statement.

"Is this about that homo?" Irvine said, recieving mixed reactions from the rest of the team, which Cloud assumed was good.

"We're all homo's, unless of course there's a species of asshole we've overlooked, than you'd of course be an exception"

"It's people like him that"

"Oh give it a rest he's gay not diseased"

"Says you"

Leon sighed rubbing the bridge of his nose in annoyance as he watched his 'team' proceed to tear at each others throats like stray cats.

"Shut up." he said quietly.

"You're such a homophobe"

"And You're such a hypocrite"

"Oh for the love of God, it's the twenty-first century, do you know how many people are gay nowadays"

"God? If God intended-"

"Oh here we go again. Shove it up your-"

"What are you, some kind of satanist?"

"Your mother."

"Waaaaaaaht!"

Cloud was about to step in when he caught sight of Leon shaking with rage. Cloud raised an eyebrow, amused. In the amount of time Cloud had known him, he had yet to see Mount. Leon erupt. He dropped to the floor, hugging his knees to his chest and looking up at Leon expectedly.. This would make a very valuable learning experience. He began the countdown as the color rushed to the brunettes face.

_5_

"Take that back"

_4_

"No! Your mother your mother your big fat ugly mother!"

_3_

"I'LL KILL YOU!"

_2_

"Go ahead and try!"

_1_

"SHUT UP! SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT THE HELL UP!" Leon yelled angrily. The whole stadium was silent, struck dumb at Leon's rare show of emotion. "Are you fucking serious! You're morons, all of you. Morons and hypocrites. Why don't you shut the fuck up and listen for once, maybe we'll get something done."

"Here here!" Cid exclaimed pumping his fist into the air.

Leon breathed in deeply counting to ten in his mind. He brought his hand to the bridge of his nose like he always did when he was annoyed or exhasperated, a habit he picked up upon meeting Cloud. Loud clapping brought Leon out of his stupor.

"That's wonderful progress Leon! Keeping all that inside couldn't be healthy." Cloud exclaimed jumping to his feet. "What Leon meant in that incredibly inspirational speach was, It doesn't matter how good we get or how many games we win If we can't depend on each otheror even gather outside of a sphere pool without wanting to kill each other than we'll never be a team."

There was a pause as his words sunk in. "So...what I'm basically trying to say is, all homophobic bypocritical cowardly assholes can leave us now. There's no room for closed minds here."

Noone said anything or even dared move. "Maybe you didn't hear him the first time. All closed minded homophobic whatever whatevers leave now." Cid said standing up. He walked over to where Seifer and Irvine sat. "This means you two, get your asses up, and get the hell outta my stadium."

"Waah?" Seifer exclaimed sitting up. "You can't be serious! Nationals are coming up, without us-"

"We'd probably have a chance of winning." Rikku said smiling sweetly.

"You can't do this!" Irvine exclaimed.

"Oh we can. and we are." Cloud said smiling and pointing towards the doors.

Seifer meerly sat there in shock for a moment, before glaring up at the captains. He snorted before getting up and leaving with a dramatic flap of his coat. Irvine and several other benchwarmers got up to follow him. Clapping filled the stadium as the team watched them go, Seifer tripping over his own feet in embarrased rage.

Cloud smiled cheesily. "Alright then. Now let's do our best."

>>>

Sora laughed as Riku told him the story of what had happened that afternoon. "I wish I could have seen that." Sora said as he supressed his laughter.

Riku smiled. "It was priceless." There was a few minutes of comfortable silence, Riku's arm draped lazily over Sora's shoulder.

"Do you think you'll come to school tommorow?" Riku asked.

Sora shrugged. "I don't know if I can do it. I'm not sure I even want to try." It wasn't enough that Riku was with him. Two people couldn't take on the whole school.

Riku looked at Sora for a moment before retracting his arm and standing up. "Come on." He said offering his hand to Sora.

"What?" Sora asked confused. "Come outside with me real quick."

"Outside?" Sora whined, "But it's freezing outside!"

"Please."

Sora sighed accepting Riku's help and grabbing his coat. "What could possibly be out-ah!" Sora exclaimed ducking as a snowball came straight towards him. He turned, remembering too late that Riku was behind him.

Riku took a deep breath, eyebrows narrowed at the culprit angrily, snow dripping down the side of his face. Sora attempted to hold it in, but soon gave that up and held his sides as his body raked with laughter.

"Yuffie," Riku exclaimed through clenched teeth, picking up a snowball and tossing it at her. She lept out of the way with the yelp, the snowball hitting Aerith instead who ended up hitting Sora, who then hit Cloud.

In a matter of minutes they were all engaged in a snowball fight on Sora's lawn, with the exception of Leon, who simply sat on the hood of his car, shaking his head and leaning out of the way of stray snowballs every now and then.

Emmy pulled the curtain back, smiling to herself as she saw Sora laughing with his friends and in that one moment she was reassured that moving to Traverse Town was not a bad idea after all. Sora would overcome his troubles, becoming stronger than before with all his friends by his side.

>

_A/N:UPDATE! FINALLY! I won'ttell you every single reasonwhy this chaptertook so long,I'll give you the short version. My computer crashed, I wasthree fourths done with the chapter. I lost everything. After that I also lost my motivation. I wanted to write so that I wouldn't leaveyou guyshanging but nothing would come out. Eventually itdid (it was really hard to write and after reading it over...blahhh) but I don't have Microsoft Word anymore so I had to write it all in Notepad, andsomewhere between uploading itall my periods, exclamation points, quotatation andline breaks wereignored. So I had to go back and...to make a long s_tory short-This chapter was really hard to write.

I apologize for all spelling and gramatical errors I didn't catch. Also for over sappiness andand any missing periodsI didn't catch.

Please Review


	23. New Beginnings

_**Beautiful Disaster**_

_**By: ScarletDreams**_

_**Disclaimer: All characters, most places things etc. belong to Square-Enix and Disney…or whatever, I don't own anything…so…don't sue me ok?**_

**Chapter Twenty Three**

_New Beginnings_

Sora smoothed out a wrinkle in his navy uniform pants, biting his lip nervously. The rest of the week and weekend had came and went, a blur of sleeping and healing, and it was finally time to go back to school. He didn't really want to so much as he knew he needed to. Sulking in his room would solve nothing and result in the same. How much easier things would be though, to simply remain in bed for the rest of his life, with Riku and his mom popping in every now and then to keep him company. How easy, and safe, and utterly _empty_.

As if on cue Riku's hand slipped into his, pulling him out of his thoughts before he broke his brain trying to come up with excuses to turn around and go back home. He glanced up at the other boy, who offered him a reassuring smile before turning back to the road. They pulled into the school parking lot. It was shabbier than he remembered, less awe inspiring and more dirty. Maybe it was the black, melting snow 'or maybe' he thought, 'it's their black terrible attitudes.' The school now seemed menacing and cold, the Ivy climbing the stone walls now seemed like it was waiting for him to get closer so it could reach out and grab him, trapping him in their world of closed minded judgment forever. It was hard to believe this had once seemed so extravagant.

Riku turned the car off, turning towards his boyfriend with a genuinely concerned face.

"You ready?" he asked giving the other boys hand a little squeeze.

"Honestly?" Sora asked, peering up through his bangs.

"Honestly."

"I'm not sure. It doesn't seem right to go to a place where everyone hates me."

Riku sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Everyone doesn't _hate_ you Sora. We've been through this. Don't let a few lost and confused ignorant people ruin your opinion of _everyone_. They'll come around sooner or later. Until they do you have Cloud and Leon and Yuffie and Aerith...and me."

Sora smiled, nodding. "I guess you're right." he said, already feeling better. A little happier, more excited, and...hungry. He was definitely returning to his old self.

Riku smiled as if he was peering into Sora's very heart, watching the changes unfold himself. "The hardest part is stepping out of the car. I doubt anyone will bother you after what happened." He moved his hand to the handle, ready to push open the door and begin the most likely long, **long** day.

"Wait!" Sora exclaimed, placing a hand over Riku's.

The other boy looked at him puzzled.

"Can we...drive around the block one more time?" Sora asked smiling sheepishly.

Riku laughed turning the car back on. "Sure.

* * *

Cid blew his whistle, signaling the end of practice. Next Friday's game would be their last home game, and also the game that decided whether or not they went to nationals. In order to prepare, practice had increased to both in the morning and in the afternoon five days a week.

"Hurry and get changed so I don't have to hear your teachers whining about you being late again!" he exclaimed, motioning towards the locker rooms.

"So," Cloud began, approaching Cid as the rest of the team ran to get ready for class. "Think we have a chance?"

Cid merely grunted, placing a fresh toothpick into his mouth, "They're enthusiastic. I'll say that much. I don't think my mouth is big enough to stick my foot in if I get too cocky."

Cloud raised an eyebrow, smiling, "Oh I'm sure it's big enough."

"Why you-" Cid exclaimed, raising his clipboard to hit Cloud over the head with it but paused mid swing as the stadium door opened. Both turned to look as Sora emerged, looking around nervously.

"Sora!" Cloud exclaimed, rushing over to wrap an arm around the smaller boy, "How ya doin'?"

Sora smiled, "Alright, then again, the day's just starting."

"AH! What's with all this pessimism? Who are you and what have you done with our towel boy?"

Sora laughed.

Cid merely patted his head before heading towards his office. He paused at the door, as if realizing something important. He turned to face the boys again, eyes narrowed. "Where's Leon?"

Cloud smiled widely, "At home, he's sick."

Cid's mouth twitched as he processed the information. "Well that's fucking wonderful. He better be well in time for Friday!"

Cloud's smile only widened, "No worries coach! I'll take great care of him."

Cid sighed, shaking his head. "That's exactly what I'm worried about."

Just then the team emerged from the lockers, laughing and joking.

"SORA!" Rikku exclaimed, rushing forward to squeeze the life out of him.

The team surrounded him, welcoming him back and wishing him well. Just a few days ago some of these people had been the very cause for his near mental breakdown, and now they were trying to be friendly. A surge of anger rushed forward, but he shoved it back. He smiled, answering their questions and reassuring them he was alright, but all the while he was a bit detached. As if he were floating high above the stadium watching the entire thing unfold.

There were several ways to go about this, and they all played themselves out in his head. But with each question asked, each 'welcome back' he sensed a certain regret, as if they were truly sorry for the way they had treated him.

If they could feel remorse, if they realized that there was nothing actually wrong with Riku, or him, or any of them, then he was sure he could forgive them. It would take time, but maybe things could eventually end up like before.

Cloud stood back, watching the scene with a proud smile. He seemed to see right through Sora's skull to the thoughts that floated inside, and from the size of his grin, he liked what he saw. He threw his arms around the shoulders of the teammates nearest him. "Congratulations Crusaders!" he exclaimed, "We're finally a team!"

* * *

Sora stopped shortly as the door closed in his face. He sighed, a bitter smile forming on his face. The day was passing, slow and just as boring as it always had, only now, rather than be taunted and harassed he was ignored. So thorough and uniform was the majority of the student body in their silent treatment that he had questioned himself is he was really even there or not.

A hand reached passed, pushing open the door. Sora looked up into the soft, smiling face of Aerith.

"Good morning." She said her voice melodic and pleasant.

"Blocking traffic!" Yuffie exclaimed running into him, placing two hands on his back and lightly shoving him through the doors. Sora smiled, falling into step between his friends. He listened to Yuffie chatter about something obscure and probably unimportant as Aerith nodded and smiled, adding in questioning sound effects as required and throwing him glances to make sure he was alright. He found he didn't mind being ignored as much as he would have when he first arrived in Traverse Town.

He separated from his friends, heading to his class suddenly completely content with being alone.

* * *

Cid juggled his coffee in one hand, a stack of permission slips and room assignments in the other, as he attempted to find his keys. His eyes narrowed when he noticed the door already open and resting slightly ajar, the light filtering in through the tiny crack. With the front of his boot he lightly nudged the door open, slowly entering. He smirked to himself at the sight before him.

Cloud was sitting comfortably on the window sill, bag thrown carelessly to a corner of the room, snapping his cell phone open and shut.

"Are you _ever_ going to go to class or are you gonna spend all day glaring at your phone?" he asked, dropping the paper work on his desk and bringing his coffee to his mouth.

Cloud looked up, startled by the others sudden presence. He recovered quickly, sighing and throwing his head back dramatically. "What if he's sleeping?"

Cid rolled his eyes, "We need our answer, times running out you know." he said pulling a blank permission slip off his desk and shoving it toward the blonde co captain.

And there was something in his voice that made Cloud wonder if they were still speaking in terms of blitzball. He gazed at the other man, features contorting into a sort of thoughtful pout as he contemplated just how much the other man knew, or thought he knew and if it was more than he knew, or wanted to. Red lights flashed in his brain, signaling he was beginning to not make sense again and he sighed, straightening up, flipping open the phone and hitting the call button determinedly. He cringed, mentally preparing himself for the onslaught of verbal abuse that came with the rousing of a sick Leon. The phone rang three times before Leon answered with a coughing fit.

"Hello?" Cloud asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Cloud?" Leon croaked, his voice raspy and hoarse.

"Um...yea. How do you feel?" Cloud shifted his eyes around the room, suddenly feeling awkward.

"Terrible." Leon answered bluntly, clearly running out of patience.

Cloud cringed, determined to finish the call before he annoyed the other man. "Well, I just wanted to call to ask you about the 'thing'."

Cid raised an eyebrow.

On his end, Leon sighed, leaning his head against the headboard of his bed and bringing two fingers to the bridge of his nose. The room was spinning _way_ too fast for him to try and understand what Cloud was talking about. "Yea. Sure. Whatever."

Clouds eyes widened, surprised, "You sure? You think he'll be ready by Friday? Great! We'll start right away! Feel better Leon bye bye!"

Leon sat up abruptly, "WAIT! Cloud, what-?" the dial tone cut him off abruptly.

'_What did I just agree to?_'

* * *

Ms. Ariel smiled as she entered her art room. Due to budget cuts the art department had suffered greatly and the three or four classes she taught were all finished in the first half of the day; as predicted the room was empty save one solitary student towards the front of the room.

Riku sat on a stool before his easel, humming the steady drone of someone concentrating as he brushed color onto the blank canvas with practiced strokes. He didn't hear her come in and she eased her way through the maze of empty tables quietly so as to not startle him.

"It's not nice to look over someone's shoulder while they're drawing," Riku said, turning to glare up at his teacher with soft, aquamarine eyes.

"Ah, I was caught!" Ms. Ariel said, raising her arms in surrender.

Riku shook his head, putting down his brush and checking his watch.

"How long have you been here?" Ariel asked, moving to sit on her desk

Riku shrugged, "A while," he said smiling. "I might have missed a few classes."

Ariel rolled her eyes, "That's no good Riku. You have to go to all your classes to graduate, NOT just the ones Sora's in."

Riku laughed, the woman knew him well. "I just wanted to make sure I caught you, to thank you properly for all you've done for me."

Ariel smiled, "T'was nothing. Just make sure you win that contest eh?"

"Will do." Riku said as he began to pack up his canvas.

"Have you started moving in yet?" Ariel asked, "I could find some extra hands if you need."

Riku shook his head, "I don't have much to bring over, and I have no afternoon classes so I'll head back home and get my stuff and then move in tonight."

Ariel nodded, "Will you be alright…seeing him that is?"

Sora filled Riku's mind as he through a look at the canvas, Sora's smiling face, Sora's worried face, Sora's unsure, hungry, and happy faces. They all filled him with a feeling he never thought someone like him could ever experience. It made him feel like he was not a hopeless person, made him want to be a better person then his father was. He wanted to become a man Sora could be proud to love, and he knew that goal would prevent him from making any terrible or rash decisions. "I'll be fine."

"**Would Sora Himura please report to Coach Cid's office."**

Riku and Ariel both glanced at the PA as the announcement reverberated through the school halls.

"Wonder what that's about…" Ariel said, eyebrow raised charily.

Riku tilted his head to the side, "Me too."

* * *

Sora looked up from his math test, where he'd been stuck on the same hopeless problem for twenty minutes, with a mixture of confusion and relief. _'Coach Cid's? What's this about?_' he wondered as he gathered his things and handed the half finished test to his teacher, who instructed him to come back after school to complete it.

The halls were empty as he headed down the stairs and to the entrance. His dress shoes squeaked on the immaculately cleaned floors and in his mind he could imagine the spaces where the signs degrading Riku and himself were hung last week. '_We never did find out who did that did we_.' He thought as he left the school and headed over to the Blitzball stadium.

He was barely able to push open the door when Cloud pounced.

"Congratulations!" he exclaimed, cutting off the other boys air supply as he wrapped an arm around him in a hug/headlock hybrid.

Sora coughed, "Cloud…you're choking me!" he exclaimed as he clawed at the arm of the larger boy.

"Don't kill him before you even give him the news idiot!" Cid exclaimed, pulling Cloud off of him.

"What news?" Sora asked, "Congratulations for what?"

"Well." Cloud said smiling, "Irvine and Seifer were removed from the team this morning, so that leaves two spots open!"

Sora blinked at the older boy, not registering why they were congratulating him.

"Geez kid do we have to spell it out for you?!" Cid exclaimed, "You're on the team."

It was quiet for a moment as this sunk in, "I'm on the team!?" Sora exclaimed, smiling widely.

Cloud nodded, "Yep! If you want to be that is. Keep in mind nationals is weeks away, it's not going to be easy catching up.

It was Clouds turn to gasp for air as he found himself on the receiving end of a death hug, "YES! I'll work hard I promise! Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!" Sora exclaimed

Cloud smiled, patting the other boy on his head.

* * *

"RIKU!"

The silver haired teen jumped when he heard the bang of the art room door colliding with the wall behind it as it was flung open. He sighed, thankful that he hadn't had the brush on the canvas at the time. He turned toward the doorway, smiling when he caught sight of his boyfriend, clothes rumpled and cheeks pink with the energy he'd dispelled obviously rushing here. But what made Riku the most happy was the unabashed smile on the other boys face. The sight of the pure happiness made his stomach flip and he couldn't help but return the grin.

"What's up?" he asked, putting down the brush and getting up off the stool.

"I'm on the blitzball team!" Sora exclaimed, running over to hug Riku. "Seifer and Irvine were expelled and Cloud and Cid chose me to take one of their places!"

Riku's smile widened, "That's great Sora! Congratulations!"

"What's all this commotion about?" Ariel asked as she appeared in the door way, struggling with several large paint pots.

"Sora has Seifer's spot on the blitzball team." Riku said smugly as the two boys turned to help the teacher with her load.

"Good for you!" Ariel exclaimed, "Congratulations!"

"How about we celebrate after practice today?" Riku asked Sora with a wink, "Me, you, all you can eat buffet?"

"YAY!" Sora exclaimed, throwing his arms around Riku happily.

Ariel laughed, "Just make sure you get settled in the dorms first."

"Dorms?" Sora asked, pulling away a little so that he could look at Riku's face.

The other boy nodded, "Living with my father would be…unwise. So, the schools letting me live in the dorms."

"That's great!" Sora exclaimed

Riku nodded, "I'm not gonna let him ruin my life." He said, "I won't give up on my dreams because he wants me to."

Sora smiled, pulling the other into another hug. Riku smiled, lowering his head down to Sora's for a kiss. The brunette obliged, placing his lips tenderly over the others.

"Today's a good day isn't it?" Sora said, settling against the other boy.

Riku nodded, "A very good day."

"I'm glad I decided to come," he said, lacing their hands together as they walked, outed and unashamed down the schools corridor towards the lunchroom, not even registering the stares and whispers.

Riku held on to the other boys hand even tighter, "Me too."

* * *

Leon never got sick. Ever. It was one of those unwritten rules of the universe that kept the world spinning as it should. Leon was an impenetrable, indestructible force, and trivial things such as viruses did not affect him. At least, that was how things should have been, but there was always a margin for error in life, and Leon found himself unfortunately sitting smack dab in the middle of it.

He sniffled, wiping his red, raw nose with a Kleenex that was not as soft as it advertised and wrapped the thick down comforter tighter around his shivering frame. He didn't like being helpless, which is exactly what he was in his state. He tried to sit up and his head immediately began spinning so violently he felt as if he'd empty his already empty stomach if he so much as moved an inch.

The brunette groaned as he lowered himself back onto the bed, closing his eyes in an attempt to block out the light and cease the throbbing in his head.

'_I should probably get something light to eat._' He thought, remembering none to fondly the bonding sessions that had taken place between his face and his toilet bowl. He entertained the notion of going to the kitchen for half a second before the memory of what trying to get up had done to him quickly chased it away.

Just as he decided to give up the sound of a soft, familiar singing voice floated down the hall towards his ears. Leon sat up a bit, wondering if his feverish state had progressed to full blown hallucinations.

_"_So I won't hesitate no more, no more, it can not wait I'm sure…"

'_That can't be him_.' Leon thought to himself looking at the clock, '_He'd still be in class._'

"There's no need to complicate, our time is short, this is our fate, I'm yours."

Despite the time however, it _was_ the blonde who appeared in his doorway, pushing open the ajar door with his hip since his hands were occupied with a tray. His blue eyes brightened as he caught site of the brunette in the bed, and he made his way over.

"I let myself in, figured you and you're stubbornness would be here all alone so I decided to come over and nurse you back to health!" Cloud said, smiling the smile that Leon often associated with trouble.

"What about class?" he attempted to say, but his throat was dry and hurt when he spoke so that the only audible word of the sentence was a croaky version of 'class'.

"Skipped." The blonde said, unfolding a napkin to place on the bed. He set the tray on the night stand and put one arm underneath Leon. "Sit up."

Leon scowled at the action, ignoring the blondes help and sitting up on his own.

Cloud ignored him and simply continued to hum the song he'd been singing as he placed the tray on the brunette's lap.

"What's this?" the brunette asked, poking skeptically at the yellowish liquid.

Cloud smiled widely, "Super Special Strife Sickness Battle Soup!"

Leon turned to glare at the blonde.

"Oh come on Lee! Don't be a brat! I swear it'll make you feel better."

Leon narrowed his eyes, but picked up a spoon full anyway. "If I could move without get nauseous I'd punch you for that."

Cloud rolled his eyes, "Yea yea, just eat it, plus, I made it myself!"

Leon paused, the spoon at his lips. "You made it yourself?" he asked, looking down at the liquid so intensely he felt himself going cross eyed.

The blondes smile widened, "Yep!"

Leon slammed the spoon down, "It'll probably kill me then."

Cloud scowled, crossing his arms over his chest, "Just eat it! It's not exactly the easiest thing to make!"

Leon's glare softened at the sight of the others exasperation. The blonde pleaded with impossibly blue eyes, his lips gently curved downward.

Leon shoved the spoon in his mouth, quickly occupying his lips before they developed a mind of their own.

Clouds scowl quickly transformed back into a smile and he leaned back in the chair, getting comfortable. "So, Sora took the news well, he's willing to work hard and-"

"Wait, what?" Leon asked, "What news?"

"About Sora joining the blitzball team? I called you about it."

"When?!" Leon asked, his headache increasing.

Cloud rolled his eyes, kicking off his shoes to put his feet up on Leon's nightstand. He cleared his throat, "Yea, sure, whatever." He said, doing his best Leon impression.

The brunette could vaguely remembered being roused from his sleep and trying to get the other off the phone as soon as possible.

"What?" The blonde asked with a smirk, "Weren't paying attention or something."

Leon scowled, continuing to eat his soup, "Whatever."

Cloud laughed, folding his arms across his chest as he sat there comfortably, watching the sunlight throwing filtered shadows over the others face through the blinds. He felt warmth rising to his face without explanation, and he narrowed his eyes, looking around the room in an attempt to find something else to look at. It was then a silver glint on Leon's desk caught his eye.

Cloud stood, walking over to the desk. He picked up the heavy silver picture frame, smiling as he gazed at the picture it held and remembered when it was taken. It was the first picture taken after the first blitzball nationals they'd ever been to. They'd just won and the happiness was reflected in both of their faces. A fifteen year old Cloud was grinning almost impossibly wide, one arm thrown around Leon's shoulders, the other raised with his hand making a proud victor sign. Leon's eyes were narrowed in feigned annoyance but there was a rare smile gracing his lips. '_This is probably the only known documentation of Leon's smile in existence_.' Cloud thought to himself, chuckling "I can't believe you kept this." He said, turning to look at the other fondly.

Leon shrugged, "There was no reason to throw it out."

Cloud let out a light laugh, placing the picture frame back where it was. "Is that the only reason you kept it?

Leon raised an eyebrow looking up from the emptying bowl, Clouds back was to him, but there was a stiff tautness that he didn't recognize. He opened his mouth to talk but a low whistling interrupted him.

And just like that it was gone. Cloud turned, smiling a little too widely. "That's the tea! I'll be back!" he said as he practically ran out the door.

Leon sighed, leaning back against his headboard suddenly very tired.

* * *

"How's Leon?" Rikku asked as Cloud left the changing room.

Cloud smiled, flashing the peace sign, "He'll be good as new tomorrow. Now, let's show him how hard we can work without him!" the blonde exclaimed, pumping a fist in the air.

He was met with a resounding cheer as the rest of the team stood up, getting ready to enter the pool with a renewed vigor. The game that decided whether or not they went to nationals was next week and adrenaline had long since been running high.

"Not to rain on anyone's parade here," Zell said, twirling a blitzball on his finger, "But we're short two people? If we don't replace Seifer and Irvine we won't have much of a team."

"Ah! I'm glad you brought that up!" Cloud said, "I almost forgot." He laughed, running back into the locker rooms.

"From this moment on, Hayner you'll be taking Seifer's place, and Sora will have Irvine's." Cid said, arms crossed and toothpick hanging from his mouth. His stance was solid, as if he was daring someone to make a negative comment.

"SORA WILL BE –" Cloud exclaimed, dragging a half dressed Sora out of the locker room.

"I already told them." Cid cut him off.

"Aww…"

Sora turned bright red and proceeded to hurry and apply his missing shirt, wondering if the floor would open up and swallow him of its own accord or if he'd have to bribe someone.

The stadium was quiet for a moment as the team processed the information.

Sora bit his lip, all his insecurities coming back as he hovered in the seemingly never ending silence. Against his will he could feel his hands start to shake with nervousness as he tried to prepare himself for the insults and objections that was sure to come next.

"WHOO! SORA ALRIGHT!" Rikku exclaimed jumping up and pumping a fist in the air. Her exclamation served as a catalyst for the rest of the team and Sora found himself the center of a crowd, congratulating and cheering for him.

"So that's it then! Let's get to practicing!" Cid exclaimed.

* * *

"Slave driver!" Rikku screamed from her place on the gymnasium floor where she hadn't moved since Cloud finally declared practice over four hours later than usual.

The blonde simply smiled widely, waving at is incapacitated team as he practically skipped out into the cold night. "See you guys tomorrow! Bye bye!!"

"How does he have _so _much energy?!" Zell asked, using all his willpower to force his Jell-O like limbs into sitting position. "He has to be on drugs."

"No drugs...he's just crazy." Sora said, suddenly even more tired after watching Zell move.

Rikku sighed, "Well we better get going before Cid comes out and murders us....or makes us run laps. Same thing at this point."

Sora held up both hands to his friends, pouting at their indifferent looks. "Come on guys its my first practice! I'm gonna need a wheelchair or something."

Rikku and Zell laughed but reached out their hands to help anyway.

"Not as easy as it looks eh?" Zell asked with a smirk.

Sora sighed heavily, "Not at all...but I'm happy." he said with a smile.

Rikku grinned widely, "We are too."

"Want to head to the Seventh Heaven and Nurse our wounds over hot chocolate and French toast?" Zell asked as they left the locker room.

Sora loosened his scarf, "That sounds awesome, but I promised Riku I'd meet up with him. Maybe tomorrow?"

Zell nodded, "Sure thing! Maybe looking forward to it will help me not run screaming once practice starts."

The two laughed, before Sora said his goodbyes to the team and began the trek across campus to where the exchange students stayed. Despite the ache in his muscles he felt surprisingly good. It was nice to know that everyone wasn't against him.

The hall where Riku was staying was just as ostentatious as the rest of the school, and he was proud to say this type of grandiose architecture no longer affected him as it did all those months ago.

'_I've come along way from that out of place island boy,_' he thought as he walked through the halls, trying to find the door number Riku had texted him.

* * *

"You sure you don't need anything else?" Aerith exclaimed, tucking in the last few corners of the blankets on Riku's new bed, despite the other boys protests.

"No Aerith I'm fine. I really appreciate you guys helping me settle in. Thanks." Riku said exasperated. He dropped down in the chair at the rose wood desk, exhausted by moving all his stuff from his house to the dorm.

He hadn't taken much. He simply needed to lug over his clothing, text books, easel and art supplies. Most of his paintings had already been destroyed and the white walls of his room felt bare and suffocating, as if they were threatening to close in on him at any moment. Their total lack of anything seemed overwhelming, as if further bringing home the point that he know had _nothing_ save the portfolio sitting in Ms. Ariel's office. It was almost enough to just give up all together.

"Okie dokie then!" Yuffie exclaimed as she picked up the flattened boxes, "We'll be going then. Have a good night!"

Riku nodded, standing to walk them to the door.

"Good night Riku," Aerith said softly as she passed.

"Same to you, OH!" he exclaimed in sudden realization, "If you see Sora wandering around can you send him over? I probably should have gone to get him instead of just relying on his sense of direction."

Yuffie laughed, "No prob bob!"

When they were gone Riku closed the door, slumping back down into the chair, suddenly very anxious. He sat fidgeting for a moment before reaching over into the box by his desk and beginning to set up his textbooks. Pretty soon the box was empty save Riku's paint pallet and pen set.

His breath hitched in his throat as he slowly reached in, as if afraid they'd either bite him or disappear. He squinted, examining their worn cases in the light. '_Would it be tragic to just give up right now?_' Riku thought, placing them on the desk so he could run his hands along their face, memorizing the lines he already knew so well.

With a sigh he opened the drawer and shoved them in. He went to push them to the back but something obstructed their way. Riku furrowed his brows, tilting his head to look into the drawer. He reached his hand in and pulled out a black, mole skinned sketchbook.

His eyes widened in a pleasant shock as he ran his hands along the expensive cover, the smell of fresh, unused paper already greeting his nose. He undid the clasp and opened it, the yellow cover page was crisp and blank and he turned it, breath hitching in his throat as he saw the sketch on the first page.

Someone has drawn a picture of him, sitting with his head turned down toward his paper. His face was soft with affection, lips slightly parted and turned upward. His eyes were focused and piercing yet at the same time gentle and young. '_Is this what I look like when I draw?_' he thought blushing a bit. This was the first time someone had put so much effort and attention into him and it was strange seeing another's interpretation of him that wasn't completely negative.

He turned the page and written on the back was a letter addressed to him. "Hm," He said, leaning forward to read it.

_Dear Riku;_

_I hope by now you're settled in to your new room. I'm so incredibly happy for you. I know that here, in this sort of untainted environment you will bloom even more than you would have with that man._

_Over the past few years I have watched you grow and mature, and just as importantly I have seen your art improve drastically. This year especially I have watched you utilize and cultivate your talent in a way I've never imagined. You have a gift Riku, a sacred special gift that comes around very very rarely._

_It is because of this that I desperately ask you to continue to test the limits and boundaries of your ability. There will always be people who will attempt to hold you back, but you can't let them. I know like you feel like you have to pay me back for helping you but that is unnecessary. The only payback I ask of you is that you never give up, and you always draw._

_I'm giving you this sketchbook so that you can begin again. I look forward to watching you fill it up._

_Sincerely, _

_Ariel_

Riku smiled, very touched. '_I can't give up_.' He thought as turned back to the drawing, running a pale hand over the intricate lines of the sketch.

There was a light rapping on his door, and he got up, placing the book on the desk to go answer it.

"Hi!" Sora exclaimed, standing on his toes to give Riku a light kiss before coming into the room. "Woah! This is not bad!" he said grinning, "Better than my room, that's for sure."

Riku smiled, looking at the other boy affectionately. He hadn't known what to expect after today but he was relieved to know there was nothing to worry about. The old Sora was back.

"How was practice?" Riku asked, sitting down on his bed next to the other.

"Hard. Oh Gosh Cloud has NO MERCY!" Sora exclaimed, throwing himself back so he was laying across the others navy bedspread.

Riku laughed, laying on his side so he was facing the other. "Wait till Leon gets back." He said with a smirk.

"Ugh." Sora exclaimed banging his head against the wall. "I can definitely wait for that to happen." He said, lacing and unlacing his fingers with Riku's.

"But do you enjoy it?" Riku asked moving closer so that Sora could feel his breath on his neck.

The brunette shivered, turning so that he was looking at Riku. He nodded with a smile. "I do."

"That's all that matters then."

They sat in a comfortable silence for a moment, Sora lacing and unlacing their fingers together, "Can I ask you something?" he asked quietly.

Sora lifted their laced hands to kiss where their fingers joined, "Anything."

"Why'd you give up blitzball?" Sora asked. Biting his lip in preparation for the mood to change.

Riku simply shrugged, "It wasn't something I enjoyed, but my mother's father played blitzball and it was something that was important to her. When she left, I decided I'd only do things that meant something to me. That way I'd never feel the need to get up and leave, abandoning everyone I loved because I just couldn't take it anymore."

Sora smiled, leaning in to press a kiss to the others lips.

Riku's eyes were wide with surprise and Sora laughed.

"What was that for?" Riku asked.

Sora shrugged, "I just felt like you were someone I suddenly really wanted to kiss."

Riku smiled, leaning in for another kiss. They pulled away a minute or two later when Sora's stomach made it's presence known…loudly.

Sora looked mortified, his face turning a bright red. Riku began to laugh hysterically, and after a few moments of embarrassed pouting Sora joined in, both boys laughing with abandon, not bothering to restrain themselves till they couldn't even be sure why they were laughing so hard anymore.

"Maybe we should finally go get something to eat?" Riku asked, suddenly feeling much lighter then he had been in the past few days.

Sora nodded with a sheepish smile, standing up and handing Riku his coat.

Sora walked ahead, singing some spontaneously made up song about food and Riku smiled, locking the door behind him.

'_I won't give up.'_

_**a/n**__: Is anyone still reading this? Ahh, I'm so terrible ; o ; I can't believe how long this chapter took to write…and how much longer still to post. THREE YEARS! I wonder if anyone remembers this? Ha ha. From now on I'm going to try my __**hardest**__ to update in a timely fashion. I'd really love to hurry up and just write this story already, and I'm sure whoever's still around would prefer that too._

_To anyone still reading, thank you very much for being so incredible! I hope this chapter wasn't too disappointing and I promise to work hard in the future! Please don't give up on me =]_

_Please don't forget to review!!_


	24. Now We're Getting Somewhere

_**Beautiful Disaster**_

_**By: Emmi Rayne [previously scarletdreams**_** same author~different pen name!]**

_**Disclaimer: All characters, most places things etc. belong to Square-Enix and Disney…or whatever, I don't own anything…so…don't sue me ok?**_

**Chapter Twenty Four  
**_Now we're Getting Somewhere_

"Why've you stopped?" Leon asked, stopping his lap as he caught sight of the boy sprawled out on the track. "I don't think I said we were done."

Sora tried to find the energy to answer but even his vocal chords seemed to be feeling the strain of the intense blitz ball training. "Five…minutes."

Cloud passed them sprinting, turning a cartwheel as he finished one lap into a new one.

Sora fought the urge to bury himself beneath the field and cry. The semi-final game was _tomorrow_ and everyone was a little on edge, showing it in their own way. Cloud showed it by being even _more_ mobile than usual, rarely staying in the same place for more than five minutes, Rikku showed it by mumbling the plays they had to memorize to herself over and over again throughout the day, and Leon showed it by pushing his body to it's absolute limit and bringing the rest of the team along with him. They had already run eighteen laps and Sora could no longer feel the muscles in his legs.

"Keep this up and he won't be able to play tomorrow!" Rikku exclaimed as she skipped into her new lap, not at all bothered by the exertion.

Leon sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Are you sure you're ready for tomorrow Sora?"

Sora began to panic, playing on the team was his one goal since arriving and now that he had it he didn't think he could take losing it. "Yes! I'm positive! I know I may not be as good as the others because I've only been training for two weeks but I'm a pretty fast learner and a fast swimmer and I've memorized all the plays and-"

"Ah, just leave him alone Le, He'll do fine." Cloud said as he finished another lap and moved to join the other two men as the rest of the team passed them on their final lap.

Leon scowled, "Whatever." He said before continuing on his jog.

"He hates me." Sora mumbled into the concrete.

"He doesn't hate you," Cloud said, patting Sora's spikes as he moved to sit next to t he other boy on the ground. "He's just worried you'll hurt yourself…but he expresses it like an asshole because…well…he's Leon."

Sora groaned, moving to sit up despite his protesting limbs.

"How about we humor him and walk you're last two laps?" Cloud asked, offering the smaller boy his hand.

"Slowly?"

Cloud smiled, "Very slowly."

Sora took the others hand and allowed himself to be pulled onto his feet, "Ok."

* * *

"This way Mrs. Himura!" Yuffie exclaimed as practically pulled the older woman through the stands by the hand, Aerith close behind. "We'll have the best seats in the house over here."

Emmi nodded, following the overly hyper teenager to a row relatively high in the immense bleachers. There were a few students scattered throughout the stadium already, and more and more were filing in as the minutes ticked away till five o'clock. Before them, whoever was sitting there had set down a box of nacho's and soda and gone in search of something else. Members of the student council walked up and down the outside aisles, selling anything they could to anyone who would buy.

"I can't believe they're letting that homo have my spot!" Seifer exclaimed, slamming his fist down into the bench next to him. "Just looking at his stupid face pisses me off!"

"Than why are you here?" Namine asked from where she reclined on the bleacher.

"We couldn't chance missing the humiliating defeat of the Hikari Crusaders thanks to their lame captains kicking off the real talent for a nobody and a fag." Irvine said with a smirk.

"I can't wait to see Strife and Leonhearts face when the Hollow Bastion Heartless _destroys them_." Seifer added.

Yuffie glared at the group two rows below them, fist tightening in anger as she stood up as if getting ready to lunge at them.

"Yuffie," Aerith warned softly.

Namine snorted, "I really don't care about blitz ball. I just hope one of the heartlesses gets the stupid homo good. Wouldn't it be so cool if like, one of the Heartless knocks Sora out of the sphere pool so hard he hits the stairs and ends up in the hospi-"Namine's word was cut off and replaced by a high pitched scream as she and her companions were quickly covered in the food that had once sat on the bench above them.

"Whoops!" Emmi exclaimed, her foot still resting on the bleacher when she'd "accidentally" kicked over the snack box.

"You did that on purpose!" Namine exclaimed angrily standing up.

"Oh of course not, here let me help you." Emmi exclaimed, reaching for the blonde girl with napkins.

"Stay away from me you freak!" Namine shrieked, before running to the bathroom to clean up.

Seifer and Irvine stepped over the bleacher where they had been sitting so they were looking down at Emmi, Yuffie, and Aerith.

"You're gonna regret that." Seifer snarled, reaching forward.

"You know a lot about regret don't you?"

All five heads turned to the aisle where Cloud stood, arms folded across his chest with Rikku beside him.

Seifer glared at the blonde for a moment before turning on his heel and leaving, Irvine following him out.

Cloud grinned widely, "How was I? Cool right!? I'm so cool!"

Rikku snorted, "Yea sure, cool." She said, making air quotes before continuing on down the stairs towards the sphere.

"I was cool." Cloud pouted.

Aerith laughed, patting him on the head, "You were very cool Cloud. Seifer was completely frightened of you."

Cloud grinned widely, "I always loved you more than Rikku!" It was then he noticed the small, unfamiliar brown haired woman sitting between them. "Who's this?"

"This is Sora's mom!" Yuffie said, "Who is officially the coolest person ever! That totally wasn't an accident was it?"

Emmi giggled, "Oh…it might have been slightly on purpose."

Cloud put out his hand to shake hers, "I'm Cloud, I'm co-captain of the blitz ball team and a good friend of your son!"

"He's also clinically insane and about to face the wrath of an angry Leon." Yuffie added, signaling one of the students selling snacks over.

"I am not in-wait…Leon?" Cloud said, eyes suddenly widening as he turned around and caught sight of the brunette swiftly walking towards him. "Crap!" Cloud exclaimed before making a beeline down the aisle towards the team room behind the sphere pool, where he was currently _supposed_ to be.

Leon was currently doing what Cloud had deemed his Jason walk. It was the walk murders in horror movies had that somehow allowed them to catch up to even the most desperate runner and Cloud knew at once he was screwed.

"Nice meeting you Mrs. Sora's mom bye!" Cloud called before disappearing in the mass of people.

Despite his apparently slow walk a '_whoosh_' of air confronted the girls as Leon passed them in search of the blonde.

* * *

"Can't you stay still for _five_ minutes Cloud?" Leon asked, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

Cloud laughed, rubbing the back of his head nervously, "Is that a trick question?"

Leon rolled his eyes and continued buckling the straps on his blitz ball uniform.

The crowd's cheers could be heard even in the isolated locker room as the MC started introducing the game.

Cloud paused at the doorway, looking out into the packed stadium before him. He turned towards his co captain, biting the inside of his cheek. "Leon…I think I'm nervous."

The brunette stopped tightening his top, eyebrow raised in surprise. "Why?"

Cloud shrugged, "It's our last home game, ever. Everyone's counting on us…what if we screw it up? What if we don't make it to nationals?"

Leon frowned, furrowing his eyebrows as he crossed the distance between him and Cloud in three long strides. "That won't happen. You're Cloud and I'm Leon and we _don't_ lose. Our team doesn't lose. You understand? It's just not possible."

The blonde smiled, comforted by his partners supreme confidence in their abilities. '_If Leon says it's ok,_' he thought, '_It has to be ok_.' A lot of things had changed over four years, but the brunette's uncanny ability to always be right had not, and neither had Clouds supreme faith in him.

"You ready?" Leon asked, looking out passed Cloud into the stadium before them. He lifted his fist so it was at eye level with the blonde.

Cloud nodded, raising his own so that the side of his connected with Leon's in a familiar gesture of camaraderie. It was then the rest of the team filtered into the locker room, giddy with excitement and adrenaline induced by the upcoming game.

"Ready to win!?" Cloud exclaimed, turning towards the rest of the team grinning. Leon's own confidence had quickly become his own and he was ready for the game to just start already.

There was an affirmative cheer that rang throughout the locker room and surely out into the arena beyond.

"Let's go then." Leon said quietly, a rare smirk gracing his handsome features. Cloud winked at Sora who smiled widely at his co captains.

And with that Leon turned on his heel and walked out into the arena side by side with Cloud. The rest of the team followed and a deafening cheer rose throughout the arena as the crowd rose to their feet, preparing themselves for the intense game ahead.

* * *

"Am I too late?!" Riku exclaimed as he took his place on the end of the row beside Yuffie.

"No, just in time. There's four minutes left on the clock." Aerith said, "So far we're in the lead 16 to 4. With Zell on defense I don't think they'll be catching up anytime soon."

"Great!" Riku exclaimed, grabbing a sip of Yuffie's soda, ignoring the girls yelp of protest. "And Sora?"

Aerith pointed to where the brunette floated between the two goal posts, watching the scuffle between Leon, Rikku, and three of the opposing team members intently. "He's goalie, and doing a great job! He's already blocked _four_ shots."

Riku smiled proudly, cupping his hands around his mouth to cheer loudly for the brunette. "WHOO! GO SORA!"

The brunette hesitantly spared a quick glance towards the direction of the cheer, smiling and offering a small wave before quickly jumping back into concentration mode.

"How's the painting coming?" Yuffie asked, snatching her soda back from Riku.

He smiled, "Surprisingly well. I didn't think it would be so easy to get back into it, but I'm pretty much done."

"When's the competition?" Aerith asked

"May 3rd." Riku said focusing on the game as the other team got possession of the ball.

"That's during nationals!" Yuffie said, "What a coincidence! You'll be winning, Sora will be winning, and life will be great!!"

Riku smiled affectionately at the wannabe ninja, lightly hitting her head.

The member of the opposing team shoved passed Zell, pulling his arm back as far as he could and releasing it with a power that parted the water from it's path. Sora quickly swam up, catching the ball just before the ball made it between the two poles into the net. The school erupted into cheers as Riku let out a breath he didn't know he was holding.

The last few minutes passed in a blur of color and motion, the players moving so fast Riku was almost dizzy. The buzzer signaling the end of the game rang just as Rikku hit the ball straight into the opposing teams net, wiggling her fingers at the goalie in a taunting wave.

The whole stadium seemed to vibrate with the celebrating crowd as the Hikari Crusaders were declared the winners. The players excited the sphere pool before sharing celebratory hugs and high fives. Sora looked up to where Riku, his friends, and his mom sat, smiling as he flashed the victory sign.

Riku gave the other boy a thumbs up, before their gaze was broken by the brunette being pounced on by two excited brunettes and dragged back into the locker room.

The locker room was loud with the excited chatter that came with the winning of the game, and the team changed quickly, drying off and exchanging their favorite moments of the game.

It wasn't until Cid cleared his throat that the team even acknowledged his presence.

"Congratulations Crusader." He said, smiling so that his toothpick hung precariously out the side of is mouth. He held up a stack of papers, permission slips and room assignments no doubt. "We're going to Nationals!"

* * *

**a|n:**

_omg guys! An update that's totally not spaced one YEAR after the other =O Are you surprised =]? Granted, this chapter was pretty short buuuuut~it was necessary to set the stage for the final future chapters, which will all be pretty long I'm sure. There are only __**three**__ chapters and an epilogue left…can you believe it? After so many years we're finally nearing the end! I hope to continue to update in a timely fashion from now on!_

_& before my authors note becomes longer than my chapter I'll leave with this: __**PLEASE**__ don't forget to review. If you enjoyed the chapter or are enjoying the story I'd really, really, __**really**__ like to know. And if there's anything you'd like to see feel free to drop a line in a review or message. _

_Reviews motivate me to keep going! _

_Thanks for reading! [and I hope I didn't confuse anyone with the name change~but it had to be done ha ha] X3_


	25. Shortly Before the End

_**Beautiful Disaster**_

**Chapter Twenty Five  
**_Shortly Before the End_

"Underclothes?"

"Yes."

"Uniform?"

"_Yes."_

"Extra uniform?"

"YES! Yes mom I have underclothes and extra clothes, and my uniform and an extra uniform, and my tooth brush, and toothpaste and everything else on the list!" Sora exclaimed closing his medium sized suit case and pulling the zipper closed.

Emmi smiled, ruffling his fair affectionately, "I know I'm overreacting. It's the first time you're being away though…I think I have a right to be nervous."

Sora smiled, "It's alright mom, and I'll only be gone for three days."

Emmi looked as if she'd say something else, but the doorbell sounded, stealing her attention. She stepped over Sora's suitcase, looking through the window to see Riku standing on the porch.

"Good morning Mrs. Himura." He said when she opened the door, stepping in and kneeling by Sora. "All ready?"

The brunette smiled, nodding as he lifted the suit case so it was resting on its side. "Ready for blitzball championships, a two week vacation, and a nuclear war thanks to mom."

The boys shared a laugh and Emmi shook her head, putting out a hand to help up her son. She pulled him into an embarrassing hug, causing the boy to turn red and squirm.

"Mom," Sora exclaimed but Emmi refused to let go.

"Soraaaaaaa, I'm going to miss you! Be careful! Don't talk to strangers, stay with your team mates, lock your door, wear your seatbelt, watch your luggage, listen to Cid…no don't listen to Cid listen to Leon."

Sora laughed, "Yes Mom."

"Promise me you'll come back in one piece?" She asked, pulling away so she could get a long look at him.

"I promise. I love you mom." Sora said with a smile.

"I love you too." Emmi said, giving Riku a pointed look, "Get him there safely ok?"

Riku nodded, grabbing Sora's luggage. "Will do."

The phone began to ring in the kitchen and Emmi excused herself, calling her final goodbyes over her shoulder as she rushed to answer it in time.

"Important phone call?" Riku asked, pushing Sora's suitcase through the front door.

"It's probably my dad," Sora said, holding the door opened for his boyfriend, "They've been talking a lot lately."

Riku raised an eyebrow as Sora closed the door behind them.

Sora shrugged, "Probably something to do with the divorce. I must admit though, having them not hate each other…it's kind of weird."

Riku laughed, "Come on, you're going to be late."

"So are you nervous?" Sora asked once they were in the car, sliding his hand into Riku's unoccupied one.

Riku laughed, squeezing it as he drove on, stopping briefly at a stop sign and continuing on. "No. Shouldn't I be the one asking you that?"

Sora laughed, shrugging. "I wish I could be there."

Riku squeezed the others hand again, "It's alright; you have your own game to worry about."

"Are you still not going to let me see it?" The brunette asked as they turned into the school parking lot.

Riku smiled, putting the car in park and pulling the keys out of the ignition. "Not until it wins first prize."

Sora grinned, pulling the other into a kiss, "Then I won't ask to look at it again until we've taken first place."

Riku nodded, "It's a deal then."

* * *

"WHOO HOO! NATIONALS HERE WE COME!!" Rikku exclaimed as the bus pulled past a sign that read '**You are Now Leaving Traverse Town, Please visit again soon**.'

"ugh! My ears Rikku!" Zell exclaimed, rubbing the offended appendages tenderly.

"Are Nationals that fun?" Sora asked, turning so that he was looking at his two friends over the seat.

"Of course they are!" Rikku exclaimed. "You get to play teams from all over the country, and meet great blitzball players. Not to mention we're the champions, so we get a few perks."

The bus erupted into sound as the whole team began talking at once, relaying to Sora just how big a deal Nationals was.

Cloud laughed from his seat in the back, drawing the attention of Leon who was currently looking out the window. Somewhere between the Hikari High parking lot and Interstate 49 buildings and Industrial areas had given way to simply cars and trees and a light spring rain.

"What will they do without us next year?" Cloud asked with a smile.

Leon rolled his eyes, "They'll be fine, and they'll keep winning."

Cloud nodded, "We trained them well." He turned so was facing Leon, "Hard to believe these are our last few games together."

Leon looked back at the blonde by his side, trying to search the others face for underlying messages while remaining calm and stoic. "Had to happen sometime."

"Still," Cloud said, leaning back against the seat, "It's kind of sad."

Leon sighed, looking around the bus and feeling an unwelcome pang in his heart. "Yea."

The bus pulled into a rest stop and the team began to pile off, all chattering amongst themselves with Sora's "I'M SO HUNGRY!" sounding above the raised voices of his teammates.

"You want anything?" Cloud asked as he stood, stretching his body, cramped from the long drive.

Leon shook his head, putting his headphones back into his ear, leaning back into his chair and closing his eyes.

Cloud hesitated, eyes resting on the others face for a moment before he turned and left the bus.

Leon opened his eyes, watching the blondes form walking through the drizzle towards the fast food plaza.

The blonde's question, asked innocently in the context of food rang in his head, disturbing the quiet an empty bus provided. '_You want anything?_'

He sighed in defeat, resting his forehead against the cold, glass window.

'_Yes._'

* * *

"Welcome to the 45th Annual Blitzball Nationals at Radiant Garden!"

Cheers resounded through the hotels convention hall, where hundreds of blitzball players had collected moments ago.

"My name is Jecht, as I'm sure many of you know, and I will be this years Ceremony Master! Any questions or concerns should be directed to me and my team." The man paused for applause before pushing a button, the screen behind him changing to show the names of all the teams, several lines appearing to connect the team names.

Sora tilted his head to the side, observing the mess on the screen with a raised eyebrow. "What's that say?" He asked, confused.

Cloud laughed, moving closer so that he could whisper effectively. "There are eight teams here right now, each team will play one game today, and then it gets narrowed down to four. Saturday it gets narrowed down to two, and then Sunday is the championships between the two final teams."

"Ah, I see." Sora said nodding. "Why is it only one game per day? Do they last that long?"

Cloud shook his head, "Some may last longer than average, but they're usually regular games. It's just…they can get rather intense. So for safety reasons the rules were changed so it's only one game per day."

Sora raised an eyebrow at the blonde captain, "How intense?"

Cloud waved his hand dismissively, "Oh, it's not that bad. In 45 years only three or four people have actually died."

Sora's eyes widened and Leon turned around, sending them a death glare that said 'shut up!'

Both boys remained until the man left the stage and the captains of all the teams rushed forward to check the matches for the following day.

The team sat in an apprehensive silence, waiting for the two captains to return.

"So?" Zell asked as Leon and Cloud returned.

"The Besaid Aurochs."

"Is that bad?" Sora asked, tilting his head to the side.

"Of course not," a boy said from behind him, "We destroyed them last year."

"Don't get cocky," Rikku said, "They've had a whole year to train."

"We'll play it how we usually do. We'll use the Twilight formation, so brush up on it." Leon said curtly, nodding to the team before walking away.

* * *

"Tomorrow's the big day!" Yuffie exclaimed, dropping down onto Riku's bed, "Are you nervous?"

Riku shrugged, "Kind of…maybe…a little."

Aerith laughed, "Where's the painting?"

"Ms. Ariel had it taken over to the gallery this afternoon." Riku said, pulling his pajama shirt over his head and dropping down onto the bed next to Yuffie. "You guys will see it tomorrow."

"Aww! But I wanted to see it now! Can you at least tell us what it's of? Show a sketch? _Something_?" Yuffie asked.

Riku shook his head, "You'll see it tomorrow. Now stop asking before I throw you out!" he exclaimed, tossing a pillow at his dark haired friend.

"Have you heard anything on the team?" Aerith asked, sitting beside Yuffie.

"I just got off the phone with Sora. Apparently they're going against the Besaid Aurochs at Five." Riku said, grabbing the remote off the night stand and handing it to Yuffie to keep her occupied. "I'm sure they'll do fine."

Aerith nodded, "Me too."

* * *

**a|n:**

_ahhh, this chapter is so totally a filler ^^; I'm very unhappy with it, but it was necessary to set the stage for the last few chapters._

_Thanks for reading and please don't forget to review!_

**_By: Emmi Rayne _**

_**Disclaimer: All characters, most places things etc. belong to Square-Enix and Disney…or whatever, I don't own anything…so…don't sue me ok?**_


	26. Down and Out

_Beautiful Disaster_

_By: ScarletDreams _

Disclaimer: All characters, most places things etc. belong to Square-Enix and Disney…or whatever, I don't own anything…so…don't sue me ok?

**Chapter Twenty Six A  
**

_Down and Out  
_

Sora swam up, catching the blitzball just as it reached the goal and tossing it as far back into the pool as he could. With an unmatched and unsettling speed Cloud cleared the distance between himself and the ball, winding his arm back to make the flawless passes he was known for when an elbow came harshly and deliberately in contact with his face. The blonde co-captain fell back as the ball went spiraling back into the pool.

Both Leon and a member of the opposing team swam towards the ball simultaneously; neck and neck until Rikku appeared, violently tackling the other player out of the pool. Leon grabbed the ball, barely able to initiate a pass before he was tackled from both sides. Zell caught the ball, swimming past two defenders before propelling the ball past the goalies head and into the net beyond.

Just then the buzzer sounded, signaling the end of the game.

* * *

"Woo hoo! Alright! One down, two to go!" Zell exclaimed, high-fiving Rikku, who was drying herself off with a towel.

"How'd you like your first game of nationals Sora?" Rikku asked, wringing out her hair.

Sora poked one of the purplish-blue bruises forming on his forearms, "Well…I can see why there's only one game per day." He said, momentarily drawing his attention away from his own injuries in order to let his eyes sweep across the locker room.

Cloud was sitting on a chair; head tilted back with a reddening towel pressed to his bleeding nose, Leon had an ice pack to his head and was lying on one of the benches, along with 2/3 of the team in the exact same state.

"Alright Ladies, the last game just finished and I got your schedule for tomorrow!" Cid exclaimed, bursting into the locker room, much to the dismay of many of the team nursing headaches.

"Who're the next victims?" Zell said, cocky after their crushing victory.

Cid smirked, "The Midgar Turks."

The locker room was filled with a collective groan.

"Ugh, great." Rikku said, rolling her eyes. "I was hoping they'd get eliminated in the first round."

"Who're the Turks?"

"The most miserable, obnoxious, idiotic excuse for a blitzball team ever." Rikku said, scowling.

"Well, at least we'll get a chance to take some frustration out on them." Zell said with a smirk.

"Who else made it to the next round?" Leon asked

Cid flipped a page on his clip board, "The Balamb SeeD's and Organization Thirteen."

Cloud sat up, removing the bloody towel from his nose and looked hard at Leon at the mention of the Balamb SeeD's. The brunette felt the gaze of familiar blue but made a point to not turn to meet it.

"So, free time until six. Meet in the dining hall at the hotel for dinner." Cid said, putting the clip board under his arm and turning, walking out the locker room with a wave over his shoulder.

* * *

"There's so many people here!" Yuffie exclaimed, tugging on the sleeve of Aerith's pink dress excitedly. "Look, it's totally crowded!"

Aerith smiled, nodding. The gallery where the paintings were being displayed really _was_ packed. Every corner seemed to be filled with people coming to see the paintings and find out the winner. She surveyed the crowd, trying to find Riku but it was nearly impossible to see over the crowd of formally dressed men and women.

"Aerith! Yuffie!"

The girls turned at the sound of their name to see Riku shoving past the crowd toward them. He looked incredibly handsome in a well tailored suit, shoulder length silver hair pulled back into a neat ponytail. He tried to keep his expression neutral but his sea green eyes sparkled with an excitement that gave him away.

"Wah! You're hot Riku!" Yuffie exclaimed, giving the boy a tight hug. "If only Sora was here to see this!"

The silver haired boy blushed at the mention of his boyfriend; he'd been thinking the same thing only moments ago. This was such a fulfilling experience for him; he wished the other boy was here to share in that joy.

"When will judging begin?" Aerith asked, giving him her own hug, although with much less force.

"Apparently it has already. The judges are mingled in with the regular people. We have no idea who are judges and who are regular people until everything's said and done." Riku said, a slight nervousness causing his voice to waver slightly.

"Well, I'm sure you have nothing to worry about." Aerith said smiling.

"Yea! You've totally practically won already!" Yuffie exclaimed, "Now can we please, please, _please_ see the painting already?! I've been dying to!"

Riku laughed, "Sure, Come on." He said, leading them through the crowd to the far left hand corner of the room. There on the wall stood his picture.

A moment of silence passed through the three friends as the two girls took in the painting and Riku focused on their facial expressions.

"Whoa," Yuffie said finally.

"Riku…it's beautiful." Aerith said, both turning to Riku.

And the looks on their faces were of such sincere awe that Riku knew they weren't just saying it because they were his friends. He smiled, regaining his confidence, "Thanks."

"Riku!" The three friends turned to see Ms. Ariel approaching, "Congratulations on making it this far." She said with a smile. "I'm so proud of you."

Riku smiled, hugging his mentor in a friendly greeting, "Thanks, that means a lot." He said, "I couldn't have a done it without you."

Ariel waved her hand to the side, "Oh please, it's all you Riku! You're talent got you here fair and square."

They all moved on, observing the different paintings that were Riku's competition. But Riku couldn't stop his mind from drifting back to Sora, wondering what he was doing right now and wishing he could talk to him. Just then the sound of a camera shutter pulled him out of his thoughts.

Yuffie stood a few feet away, grinning madly with her cell phone camera trained on him.

"Yuffie!" he exclaimed, but she was much too fast to catch.

* * *

"Sora…you're going to eat yourself to death." Cloud said, resting his elbow on the table and placing his chin on his palm.

"If he hasn't yet, I don't think he will ever." Rikku said, looking at the brunette with wide eyes. "It's like watching National Geographic…"

Sora ignored them in favor of shoveling food into his mouth, feeling much like any moment now he'd float right up to the ceiling on a cloud of calorie inspired bliss.

"Hey look who it is yo!"

"Oh god." Zell exclaimed slapping his forehead as a red head approached them, ponytail swinging as he hopped onto a stool at their table.

"What do you want Reno." Rikku asked, glaring pointedly at the boy.

"Oh nothing much, just apologizing." Reno said, grabbing a fry off of Sora's tray.

"Hey!" Sora exclaimed, going ignored.

"For what?" Cloud asked.

"For stealing my fry!" the brunette exclaimed, making a move to grab it but going ignored.

"For _destroying _your team tomorrow yo!" The red head exclaimed, popping the fry into his mouth..

The three blondes rolled their eyes.

"Funny how they've beat you for the past three years and yet you still somehow find the audacity to brag."

Sora looked up to see a pretty girl with black hair walk over to their table. She smiled at him, "I haven't seen you before are you new to the team?"

"Yea I'm-"

"So Cloud, Where's Squall?" she asked, without paying the least bit attention to Sora.

"It's Leon." Cloud said, annoyed.

"Oh please, I'm pretty sure he doesn't mind _me_ calling him by his name." the girl said, flipping her hair behind her shoulder as she looked pointedly down at the sitting Cloud.

Rikku mouthed the words, making a face as she mocked the other girl's actions. Zell and Sora exchanged looks, laughing.

"Oh wait, that's right!" Cloud exclaimed, suddenly sitting up, "I remember before we left Leon specifically said 'Whatever you do, don't tell Rinoa where I am!"

"Sorry," Zell said, making a face of mock sympathy.

Rikku nodded, "It's true."

Rinoa glared at them, rolling her eyes, "I suddenly remember why I don't like you guys." She said with a scowl, before turning on her heel and walking away, Reno followed, saying something about her owing him lunch.

The three of them laughed.

"Who were they?" Sora said looking warily at his tainted french-fries.

"The red head was Reno, captain of the Midgar Turks. The annoying slut bag whore face was Rinoa, Captain of some stupid team no one cares about." Cloud said, glaring at his menu. "Ah screw it I'm buying a milk shake!"

Sora raised his eyebrows at the retreating blonde. "What was _that_?" Sora exclaimed. "I've never heard Cloud talk that bad about anyone."

Rikku nodded, "No one's sure why but Rinoa and Cloud can never seem to get along."

"Maybe they secretly love each other?" Zell asked with a shrug.

Rikku turned to Zell with narrowed eyes, "That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard in my life."

Sora was distracted from the bickering duo by a slight vibrating in his pocket. He reached into his shorts, pulling his phone from his pocket and flipping it open.

_You owe me big time!_

_-Yuffie_

Sora clicked the attachment, eyes widening as a picture of Riku suddenly appeared on his screen. His hair was neatly tied back and his sea green eyes seemed to glitter in the artificial light above him. He was wearing a white button up shirt underneath a black jacket, bowtie securely fastened as he stared off at something in the distance, surely unaware of his picture being taken.

The brunette smiled, a blush creeping up along his cheeks as he stared at the picture, suddenly in an even better mood than he was before.

* * *

"Alright Ladies huddle up!" Cid exclaimed, storming into the locker room where the team was currently getting ready for the game. "This is it! We win this game and we go on to the finals. So just do what we always do. Oh yea, and don't forget the blitzball associations National team sendoff ceremony tonight."

The team gave a collective cheer as his speech finished and they dispersed back to their own individual pre-game rituals.

"The what?" Sora asked, raising an eyebrow at Zell.

"The send off ceremony, it's like a party for all the teams before the losing teams leave and the two finalists play their last game the next day." The blonde said, tying and retying his boot, it obvious that he was nervous.

"You think we're going to win?" Sora asked head tilted to the side, smiling at the other's nervousness.

"Of course." He scoffed, "Of course…"

* * *

"Hey what's up?" Cloud asked, stretching his left arm over his chest with his right as he leaned to the right, looking at Leon with concerned eyes. The brunette was standing by the door looking out with an inexplicable emotion.

"Nothing." He said, looking past Cloud to the stands where an Audience of thousands sat to watch. None of them registered in his head so much as the four men scattered in the front, designer suits tailored to perfection and buttoned to the top even in the mid day heat. '_Scouts' _he thought with a gulp. His one hope at attending a good college relied on whether or not these men thought he was good enough to pay for him. There was a sinking feeling in his stomach like he'd just begun the descent on the final drop of some crazy roller coaster. Leon hated to admit it but he was

"Nervous?" Cloud asked, as if he'd read his mind.

Leon scowled, both at the ridiculousness of that statement and at the unfortunate fact that it was true. "Slightly. I have a right to be don't you think?"

Cloud smiled, waving a hand, "Oh please, you'll be fine. You're Leon remember?"

Leon scoffed, "As if you'd be able to comprehend the importance of this game."

Cloud seemed to recoil as if he'd been struck, "What's that mean?"

Leon knew he was pushing it too far, taking his frustrations out on Cloud even though the other had only tried to reassure him, but he couldn't stop. There was something about the blonde and his faith in him that made Leon want to push it to the limits. "It means that some of us have actual real world issues to worry about. Not everyone has a politician father to make decisions for us so that we can just spend our lives goofing off."

Cloud stared at Leon for a moment, jaw stiff with words held back. He peeled himself off of the wall where he'd been reclining and without a word simply walked away.

Leon sighed, closing his eyes '_This is best'_ he reminded himself as he took one last look at the crowd and turned back into the locker room.

* * *

"Sora."

Said brunette smiled as he recognized what the other really meant when he answered his phone call with his name. Riku was the only person in the world that could make his name sound like "I miss you" and "I love you" and "I wish you were here right now". Sora blushed at the thought. If fondness were blood all his feelings for Riku would have rushed to settle in his cheeks.

"Hey," he said, wishing he could think of something more expressive.

"How are you?" Riku asked, and Sora was sure that he was smiling.

"I'm alright. We're about to play the semi-final game in like ten minutes." He turned to sit on the bench. It was only until he noticed Zell and Rikku mocking him that he became aware of his goofy grin. He scowled at the pair before turning to the side in the hopes of gaining more privacy. "How did the contest go?" he asked, playing with one of the belts on his blitzball uniform.

"You'll see." Riku said a hint of suspicious satisfaction in is tone. "How're the games going?"

"You'll see." Sora said, smiling as he mentally high-fived himself.

"Well, you said Semi-finals so I'm assuming well."

Sora's face fell, "Damn!" he thought, cursing the others perceptiveness and his own failure to keep anything to himself.

He realized he said it out loud when Riku's soft laughter reached his ears, slightly muffled by the phone and he couldn't help but smile despite his embarrassment.

"Well good luck," the other boy said, "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Thanks," Sora said with a smile, just as Cid entered the locker room with a bang as the door slammed against the wall with the force he'd used to open it.

Sora put his phone away and got up to join the rest of the team as they prepared to enter the arena and take their places in the pool. He made his way over to the board where their positions were written and smiled. Written in blue right next to his name was the word "goalie". There was something about being the last barrier between the other team and a point that gave him a rush he wouldn't give up for anything.

It wasn't until he was already in the sphere pool that he realized this was _not_ a normal game. There was a hard look to Clouds jaw, and Leon's eyes were narrowed in concentration. Rikku swam as if her life depended on it and even usually easy going Zell was tackling with a little more force than necessary.

The other team seemed to be even more serious, their determination to win was apparent in the two hard shoves, and the too desperate passes. Reno attempted to shove past Cloud to get to where Rikku had the ball and the blonde actually _shoved_ the redhead away, placing both hands on his chest and pushing him back.

Sora's eyes widened as the referee's whistle blew and the other team was given a penalty shot. It was the first time he had ever seen the co-captain break the rules.

He readied himself for the shot, steadying his position as the redhead's hand pulled back and launched the ball with a power he had never seen before.

'_Your left!'_ he thought as he focused on the ball making its way to him. He dove half a second too late as he heard the ding of the points being added to the other teams score.

The rest of the game passed by just as intensely, and Sora found himself with a newfound determination to not let anything pass him. By the second quarter his arms were littered with purple bruises on top of the ones from the day before and more than one team member sat on the sidelines bleeding.

It was Leon who made the final goal, pushing past the other team's defenders to launch the ball into the goal with a force whose side wind sent the goalie flying backwards.

Despite his exhaustion Sora found himself latching onto Rikku as they celebrated, exiting the pool with arms around both her and Zell to the cheers of a satisfied crowd.

"Alright only one to go!" Zell exclaimed high fiving Hayner as the rest of the team exited the pool as well.

"That was so awesome Leon!" a voice Sora recognized as belonging to the girl Rinoa from earlier caused Rikku to roll her eyes and shoot an annoyed look at Cloud, but the blonde was suddenly very interested in something a member of the Turks was telling him. "Our team won too! So, I guess that means we'll be going against each other."

The brunette seemed annoyed at her light touches and obvious flirting, his only response an occasional grunt as she chattered all the way to their locker room.

"I'll see you at the party tonight?" She asked hopefully, hand placed gingerly on his still wet forearm.

Cloud pushed past them, opening the locker room door with more force than necessary.

"It's mandatory." Leon said, eyes glaring at the other boys retreating back.

Rinoa smiled smugly, giving Rikku a dirty look, "So it is,"

Sora placed a calming hand on the blonde girls shoulder as Zell practically dragged her into the room.

"God I hate her!" Rikku said frowning.

Zell sighed, leading her forward after Leon, "Don't we all."

* * *

**a|n:**_this chapter was getting too long and I really wanted to just post already so I split it into 2! Part 2 will be posted sometime within the week. _

_I'm sorry this took so long, I really had such a terrible few months. School is evil, my laptop was stolen, and just overall senior year suckage._

_BUT. I got into my first choice college =D *cheers*_

_I hope to have a big writing spree this summer to celebrate. Maybe for once I'll write a story with Cloud IN CHARACTER *gasps* ha ha._

_Thanks so much for sticking around guys 3 you're the BEST!_

_don't forget to review!!  
_


	27. One Shot

**Chapter 27  
**_One Shot_

Leon jumped as a loud bang snaked its way past the comforting bubble of his music. He lifted himself onto his elbows, pulling one of the ear buds out of his ears to look over at the blonde who had just stormed into the room.

He waited for the routine he was used to. For the blonde to jump onto his bed, sweaty and all after the game and begin some asinine story with too much enthusiasm until the brunette had to literally kick him away and threaten to withhold food until he showered.

But it never came. Cloud stood with his back to the other and pulled off his shirt, tossing it carelessly onto the unmade bed.

Leon watched the gentle rippling of the blondes back muscles as he went about his natural movement. Blue-gray eyes scanned the smooth expanse of pale skin, stopping reluctantly at the waistband of the others black pants. He sighed, rubbing a hand through his hair.

Cloud walked the expanse of the room to the bathroom, stopping suddenly in the doorway. There was tenseness in his shoulders as if he was going to turn around and say something moving, and profound and enlightening and exactly what Leon needed to hear.

But he didn't. He stood for half a second longer before taking the step into the bathroom and closing the door behind him.

Leon stared at the white door, glaring holes into the painted wood. Without a sound he stood up, turning off his music and grabbing his room key, heading to the mandatory ceremony ahead of the other. '_This is best' _he reminded himself for the thousandth time that day.

* * *

"It really was lucky you know yo?" Reno said, waving his glass of coke at Sora, practically screaming to be heard over the pulsating music. "We could've beaten you; we'll beat you next year."

Sora raised an eyebrow, amuse

"Yea yea you always say that!" Rikku exclaimed, grabbing Sora's hand to pull him away from the distressed red head.

"Thank you!" Sora yelled into her ear as they snaked their way through the crowd of blitzball players towards a table where Zell and Cloud said talking. "I thought he'd never show up."

"That's Reno," she exclaimed, equally loud to be heard over the music, "Whenever he loses he'll never shut up about all the reasons why you didn't really win."

"Sora!" Cloud exclaimed, sliding the brunette a glass of something carbonated. "How're you liking Nationals?"

"It's great!" he exclaimed, smiling widely at the co-captain. "I can't believe we've come so far! Well, I can believe it…I just never thought I'd be apart of it! There's a chance we can win! I've never won anything in my life!"

"Well believe it! There's a first for everything because we're taking this one home!" Zell exclaimed, somewhat over enthusiastically but the effect drowned beneath the music.

Just then the song changed, Rikku's eyes widening, "I love this song!" She exclaimed, slamming her drink down on the table and already starting to move. "Dance with me!" she grabbed Zell by the collar, dragging the struggling boy out onto the dance floor.

The two boys sat in silence, not quite comfortable but not quite awkward either. It wasn't that Sora didn't like the senior, far from it. He was fond of the blonde and knew that the other had helped him often over the past year, but he still hadn't quite grasped the concept of what to do with Cloud _alone_. Granted, he was better than some, but nowhere near as good as Leon.

As if on instinct Sora scanned the room for the other captain. Usually wherever Leon was it could be sure Cloud was no more than five feet away. But here was Cloud and Leon was all the way on the other side of the room, seated between a bored looking blonde and a very cuddly Rinoa. She had her arms looped through his and half her body was practically draped over him as she listened intently to the story another boy Sora didn't recognize told dramatically.

He noticed Cloud's gaze following his own and looked towards the blonde, expecting to see a death glare that could rival Leon's pinned on the raven haired girl. Instead he caught the end of a flicker of hurt flashing for just the shortest of moments behind the immense blue.

Sora didn't know why he felt the need to change the subject even though they weren't even _talking_. But he knew that they both, in varying degrees were thinking about Leon and the frown on the blondes face looked so out of place Sora just had to try.

"So…do you know what college you're going to?" he asked lamely, throwing out the good old cliché senior question.

Cloud smiled weakly, as if acknowledging the others feeble attempt, "Hollow Bastion University."

Sora nodded, "Cool. I've heard of that place!"

"Have you spoken to Riku? How was the art competition?" The blonde asked, signaling the waiter to come refill his cup.

Sora pouted into his glass, "He won't tell me!"

Cloud tilted his head, confused.

"He say's he wants me to see in person. He hasn't even let me see the painting! It's killing me!" Sora exclaimed, dropping his head onto the table in frustration.

Cloud smiled fondly at the younger boy. "That must mean its pretty special to Riku."

Sora changed positions so he was looking at the blonde without having to lift his head from the table. "I guess…"

There was something sad about Clouds smile. Sora was taken aback by the foreign emotion behind the blonde's usual grin.

"I'm really happy you guys got together and stuck with it no matter what." Cloud said, leaning an elbow on the table, "Something that real doesn't come along very often. Don't lose it."

Sora looked up at the other, searching his face at any clue that led to the change in mood. When he found none he sighed, sitting up.

"Listen, I know it's none of my business but is everything ok between you and Leon?" Sora asked.

Cloud shrugged, "I guess this is just…it."

Sora frowned, "Do you want this to be it?"

Cloud's eyes flicked to Sora's own impossibly blue ones, locking in a sort of question.

They sat in silence for a moment, before Cloud let his gaze slip past Sora to where Leon was sitting with Rinoa and her friends. He found the brunette looking back at him, and their eyes met for the briefest of moments.

'_No' _Cloud thought.

Leon had been so busy staring at the blonde he wasn't listening to Rinoa or anyone else for that matter.

But maybe if he had been he would have heard the dreaded words, seen her lick her lips nervously, _knew_ what was coming to stop it before it came.

But he wasn't and he didn't and before he had time to let his eyes fall naturally from the blonde he found a small but strong hand on his cheek, pulling his face slightly to the side and the press of warm lips to his.

He froze for a moment, unable to comprehend what had happened. When the fact that Rinoa was kissing him registered in his mind he pulled back, eyes wide as he stared at the blonde, not knowing whether he was shocked or livid. It was then it registered that Cloud had been looking at him, _watching_ him when it had happened and his gaze darted to back to the table to catch Sora standing up in shock, seemingly to follow Cloud who hadn't quite run out, but didn't exactly go out of his way to stick around.

'_Shit'_ the brunette thought, shoving off Rinoa and jumping to his feet.

And it suddenly didn't matter that Rinoa had fallen to the floor, or that everyone's eyes were on him, or that everything was for the best. All that mattered was that Cloud had _seen_.

He pushed passed the table, running out of the hall into the hotel lobby, looking desperately for a glimpse of familiar spikes. The lobby was practically empty save a few straggling guests. He pushed passed the front doors, ignoring the door man as he head out into the surprisingly busy streets.

* * *

"Damn it!" Cloud said quietly, a soft scolding to the rebellious tears that fell against his will. He didn't want to cry, he'd promised himself he _wouldn't_ cry when this happened. And it really was inevitable. He had figured out how he felt about the brunette in _freshman year_ and realized just as soon that it would never be. He knew that one day Leon would find a girl to fall for and that Cloud would be free. It wouldn't be his job to make Leon smile anymore. Those smiles would no longer be his.

It was thoughts like that that made the tears fall more and more. He lifted his arm to wipe his eyes on his sleeve. The streets in this city were way too populated at night making a proper cry pretty impossible. Cloud scowled at the people intruding on his pity party. Usually he would love the life the city emanated, but right now he felt nature was betraying him by not being as dead and tired as he felt.

"Cloud!"

The blonde jumped as he heard the familiar baritone calling his name. He refused to turn around to look at the other boy and instead channeled all his ability into keeping his voice from sounding like he'd been crying.

"What do you want Leonheart?" he asked coldly, hands turning into fists in his lap as if the effort was taking a physical toll on him. "Go back inside; I'm sure Rinoa's waiting." He cursed himself as his voice cracked, wavering just a bit on the name of the girl he hated, but had to hand Leon over to none the less.

"Screw Rinoa." The brunette said, taking a step forward. '_Look at me_' he thought desperately. "She's not imp-"

Cloud ran a hand through his hair, turning his head to the side slightly so he could look at Leon over his shoulder without letting him see his whole face. The last thing he wanted was for the brunette to know he'd been crying. "I understand." He said, watching the lights of the cars zoom past him, throwing their shadows across where he was sitting every now and then. "I understand why Rinoa is a good match for you but I just need some time ok? Give me a little time to be hurt and then tomorrow I swear I'll be back to normal." He turned to Leon, smiling quietly, "I think I deserve that much."

There was something about Clouds smile that caused Leon's heart to break just a little, and he could feel the beginnings of an unexplainable panic building up. "What are you talking about?" He exclaimed, voice raised a bit higher than he meant it to. But the panic was rising and his voice climbed with it. "I don't understand! I never understand you!"

Cloud could feel the exasperation building up inside of him. '_He'll hate you' _he warned himself. '_He'll never speak to you again' but_ he couldn't bring himself to _not_ say anything after all these years, especially since it was now over. "I love you!" he exclaimed, slamming his hand on the bench in frustration. "I've _always_ loved you!"

_'He hates you_' he thought, watching Leon's face change from angrily confused to shocked awe, '_It's over_.'

Cloud tried to smile reassuringly at the other, "But don't worry. I'll get over you. I'll get over this." He said, waving his arm around the scenery. "So go back inside and have fun."

Before he could even finish his sentence however he found a hand wrapped around his arm, roughly pulling him up.

'_He's going to hit me_.' The blonde thought, closing his eyes and bracing himself for it.

But rather than a fist he found cool lips smashed against his, the hand that he thought was going to hit him weaving into his hair, holding him there. His eyes snapped open in shock to meet icy blue, narrowed in determination. He recovered from his shock enough to return the kiss, just as the brunette pulled away.

"Le-" he began.

"Don't you dare get over me. Don't ever!" Leon exclaimed, looking just a little bit more vulnerable than Cloud had ever seen him in his life.

Cloud's eyes widened with realization, a grin making it's way to his previously down turned features. "You…don't hate me?"

"I never hated you." Leon said face returning to the unreadable mask it always was.

"Rinoa?"

"Insignificant."

Cloud's grin widened and wrapped his arms around the others neck, _finally_ kissing the brunette like he'd always wanted to. He moved to pull away but was barely able to take a breath before Leon had grabbed him, bringing their lips once together; both overcome by feelings that had been held back for too long.

When neither could do without air any longer, they pulled away, Leon looking strangely flustered and Cloud slightly woozy from the combined air deprivation and close proximity with the other.

"We should probably get back." Leon said, looking intensely at Cloud.

Cloud shivered, nodding his affirmation. But neither made a move to leave and instead brought their bodies together once again. Before Leon was able to claim the blondes lips once more a hand was raised, pointer finger up as Clouds signal he had something to say.

"You think you could close your eyes when you kiss me? It's kind of creepy to open mine and find you glaring at me."

Leon scowled, punching Cloud hard on the arm.

"Ow!" Cloud squawked, pouting as he followed the now retreating brunette back to the hotel. "I knew you'd hit me."

* * *

**a|n:** & the cleon is finally RESOLVED! *cheers*  
this chapter is dedicated to the lovely **crispyrice** who inspired me to get to work with a song that really _does_ fit Leon's stupidity throughout the whole story ha ha. Now we can finally get to poor neglected Riku ha ha.

I really hope this chapter wasn't dissapointing! It's unbetaed so I apologize for any errors, please bring them to my attention when you find them. Thanks for reading and don't forget to review!


	28. Home Sweet Home?

**Chapter 28  
**_Home Sweet Home?_

"Alright Ladies! This is it!" Cid exclaimed, clapping his hands together as he surveyed the team with a look in his eyes border lining mad in its excitement. "Do what you always do…and yea!" he finished lamely, turning to Leon and Cloud, "Anything you want to add?"

Leon ignored him, merely continuing to tighten the straps on his boots.

Cloud smiled, giving the team thumbs up. "Win."

There was a cheer and then the team began to filter out into the sphere pool where spectators were already screaming for their favored teams in anticipation. Leon ruffled Sora's hair as he passed, muttering a barely heard "Good Luck".

The brunette paused, wide eyed at the sudden acknowledgement of the other before Cloud followed, clapping him violently on the back before situating himself on Leon's back with a running leap. Leon barely stumbled and made no move to kick the other off, simply continuing out the locker room as if he didn't have the other boy clinging to him like a baby koala.

"Weren't they mad at each other like _yesterday_?" Rikku asked, as she fell into step with Sora.

"Who knows with them? They have the weirdest friendship I've ever seen." Zell said, folding his arms behind his head, "Think they'll keep in touch after graduation?"

Sora smiled knowingly, "I don't doubt it."

He doubted the others had heard him though as they finally made their way to the side of the sphere pool. The crowd had gone wild when they caught sight of both teams emerging from the locker rooms and multicolored spot lights danced across the arena resting for just a moment on where the other team stood.

"What's she looking so smug for?" Rikku spat, glaring angrily across the pool to where Rinoa stood, smirking cockily at them.

"Poor thing," Cloud said as he hoisted himself up onto the steps to prepare for the first toss of the game. "Probably thinks she has a chance or something."

Sora smiled, his own confidence boosted by the adrenaline running through his veins. "Let's change that." He said, climbing in after the blonde.

"YEA!" Zell and Rikku exclaimed, jumping into the pool just as the buzzer sounded and the referee through the ball, Cloud hitting it past Rinoa and back to the team.

The game passed with an intensity that filtered out into the crowd, it was obvious that the rivalry between the two teams was more than a little personal and by the final buzzer many members of both teams had been benched due to injury.

Sora crossed his fingers, closing his eyes as he turned to the score board to see who had won. His whole world seemed to quiet for just a moment as he registered the numbers and then everything came crashing around him. The stadium erupted in cheers as he felt a teammate grab him in a one armed hug. All around him people were celebrating and Sora felt himself get lost in the happiness of finally being apart of a team and winning.

* * *

"It's been a pleasure working with you all, like really. I'm not just saying that because I have to." Cloud said from his place standing on one of the changing benches in the locker room. He was still in his uniform, towel draped around his shoulders as his hair still dripped with the water from the sphere pool. "These past four years playing alongside you guys, and this year playing alongside new talent have really meant the most to me out of my entire high school experience." He winked at Sora as he said new talent, and Sora smiled, remembering brutal practice sessions at Clouds house with the captains and Riku that had all paid off in the end.

"I'm going to miss you guys, but I'll be back every now and then to watch the games. You'll never know when I'll pop up so you all better keep on winning long after me and Leon are gone." He finished, feeling an overwhelming fondness for the team that listened so intently to him. He cursed his tendency to get overemotional as he had to break off in his speech to keep his eyes from tearing up.

"Aww Cloudie!" Rikku exclaimed rushing forth to hug him, starting a chain reaction until the entire team was enveloped into a large group hug.

Sora smiled as he found himself pressed between Cloud and Rikku, hugging the blonde co-captain just a little bit tighter than the others in a silent thank you for all the older teen had done for him without expecting anything in return. "Thank you." He said, just quiet enough to be missed by the other but loud enough for the ears it was intended for to pick it up.

The team broke off afterwards to change, settling into clusters to discuss personal highlights of the game and plan victory parties once they returned home.

"Hey…where's Leon?" Zell asked as he shook out his wet hair like a dog.

"That's a good question…"Rikku said, trailing off as she looked around the locker room for the other captain.

"These men in suits approached him as we got out of the sphere pool." Cloud said, making a face as he dodged Zell's stray drops.

Rikku's face lit up, "Scouts!?"

"Hopefully!" Cloud exclaimed with a smile, before turning to finish getting dressed.

Sora was met with his phone vibrating as soon as he opened his locker, and he reached out to grab it before it toppled off the edge. He flipped it open, and clicked on the large envelope obstructing his wallpaper.

_How was the game?  
Did you single handedly carry our team to 4 time victory ;)?_

Sora smiled, already used to the fact that a simple text from Riku could brighten up his already memorable day.

_Nice try,_ he typed out, smirking _But you'll find out once I get back =p_

He hit send, the envelope flying away and he smiled widely, feeling his face heat up as he took in his wallpaper one more time. It was the picture Yuffie had snapped of Riku at the gallery and sent to him, and he found himself flipping open his phone several times a day just to get a glimpse of it.

_'I miss him_,' Sora thought wistfully, suddenly excited to get back on the bus and get home.

* * *

Leon climbed onto the bus long after the team had settled in and the luggage had been loaded. He nodded his apologies to Cid before walking down the aisle to the back, ignoring the curious, prying looks of the team. He sat beside Cloud who was leaning his head on the window, eyes closed with headphones in.

He waited until the bus started moving and the last pair of prying, nosy eyes had given up and found better things to stare at before he slipped his hand into the others palm, grabbing his attention.

Clouds eyes opened up, brightening considerably as he saw Leon. Leon smirked inwardly, but remained passive on the outside as he realized that yes, he would never get tired of that look.

"Hey," Cloud said, pulling the ear buds out of his ears.

Leon nodded his silent greeting to the other.

They sat in silence for a few moments, still slightly awkward to the degree their relationship had changed. Should Cloud ask about the men in suits or would Leon tell him on his own? Was it still simply none of his business? Cloud twisted his headphones in his hands nervously as the thoughts mulled around his head.

"There were scouts at the game." Leon said quietly, leaning back against the seat and closing his eyes in exhaustion.

Clouds face brightened. "That's great! Were they interested in sponsoring you?"

Leon nodded without opening his eyes.

Cloud smiled wider, squeezing the others hand in support, "Congratulations! That's great!"

They sat in silence once more, Cloud was about to turn away when he heard Leon's gruff yet soft voice breaking it.

"There were three. One from Hollow Bastion University, One from Twilight University, and one from Traverse College. They're all offering to pay for me to attend so long as I play for them."

Cloud perked up at hearing his own University present among the list. "Which do you think you'll go?" he asked unsurely.

"I don't know." The brunette said, still without opening his eyes, "I have to do my research."

Cloud smiled, he knew that Leon had always harbored a secret liking for Twilight University, and despite his own desire for Leon to attend Hollow Bastion U with him, he was happy that the other was going to get to go to his dream school.

Still, as he calculated the distance between Radiant Garden and Twilight Town, he couldn't help but feel a pang in his heart.

"You know," the blonde said biting his lip, "HBU's blitz ball team is an A division? They're favored for champions. Isn't that cool? And the campus is great, and the classes are great too."

Leon opened his eyes then, giving Cloud a look that said something along the lines of 'stop being stupid'.

Cloud laughed nervously, "Sorry."

* * *

Sora hummed to himself as he walked up the driveway towards his home. "Home Sweet Home. _Finally_." He said, smiling. He never thought that he would be able to miss the unfamiliar house when he first moved to Traverse Town, but now, a mere weekend away made him homesick. He had fallen into a comfortable and happy life here, and was excited to finish off the year and start as seniors with Riku.

He twisted his key in the lock, so excited to tell his mom the news that he didn't notice the new, yet familiar car in the driveway.

"I'm h-" his words trailed off as his eyes settled on his father sitting on the couch and widened in shock. "D-dad!?" the brunette exclaimed, dropping his bags. He hadn't heard from his father since he left the islands.

The man smiled awkwardly, rubbing the back of his brown hair in exactly the same way Sora did when he was nervous. "Hi son. How are-"

"What're you doing here?" Sora asked, not in the mood for forced small talk.

Mr. Hikari felt the same obviously and sighed in relief before standing up, "Your mother and I have been discussing…and…well, we've come to a decision that…."

Sora looked at his father expectantly, head tilted slightly to the side in confusion.

"I'm here to take you back to Destiny Islands."

* * *

**a|n:** ugh.

It took me waayy to long to write this chapter. It just didn't want to come out right.  
But, the important thing is that it's finally done.  
Next chapter is the last (and then the epilogue) _finally_.

thanks for reading & please review!


	29. It's more of a See You Later

**Chapter 29**  
_It's more of a "see you later"_

"Sora honey, open the door."

Sora glared at the closed door from his position on his bed, not moving or making a sound as he heard his mother sigh and the sound of clothes sliding against wood as she sat down against it.

Emmi sighed, running a hand through her hair, "We haven't come to a decision yet exactly, we wanted to discuss it with you and hear your opinion first."

Sora snorted.

"Sora we love you. We wouldn't be bringing this up if it wasn't for your own good. Your credits from the Islands aren't enough at this school for you to graduate on time. It will take you a whole extra year. And then with the bullying."

Sora scowled, mouth opening to protest before he covered it with his hand, reassuring himself the silent treatment would be most effective.

"And then there's also…the cost of living in Traverse Town is so much more than on the islands."

Sora felt a pang of guilt at that. He had known that his mother was working hard, long hours six days a week in order to provide for him alone. He had wondered only in passing how it was that she could afford to send him to school, not once taking the time to consider just how hard it was on her.

Still, his guilt did nothing to quell the anger and hurt he felt at having his parents discuss his future behind his back. He couldn't possibly consider just picking up and _leaving_ the life he built here to return to the one he put behind him. It wasn't fair.

He grabbed his cell phone in anger, flipping it open to call Riku but stopped when he caught sight of his wallpaper. There was a moment of Riku's captured. His eyes, slightly relaxed with contentment, his strong jaw visible in profile was framed so perfectly by wisps of silver that suddenly calling the other boy wasn't enough.

'_I need to see him_.' Sora thought, eyes resting on the window.

* * *

Riku yawned; stretching much like a cat as he shuffled sleepily to his door, wondering who on earth would bother visiting _so loudly_ after curfew.

"I'm coming relax!" he called in an effort to quell the incessant banging, throwing open the door to find Sora mid knock.

Riku's eyes widened, instantly awake and he momentarily forgot how late it was, "Sora!" he exclaimed, grabbing the other boy in a tight hug.

Sora closed his eyes, inhaling Riku's scent enjoying the normal mix of ever present acrylic and soap. When he thought this may be one of the last times he got to experience it his eyes began to fill with tears he stubbornly refused to let fall.

"What're you doing here? It's past 10." Riku said, pulling away, smile fading as he took in his boyfriends wet eyes and frowned. He pulled the brunette into the room, closing the door behind them.

Sora sat on the bed, lifting his feet to the edge of the mattress so he could hug his knees. "It took me a while to find which one was yours." He said rubbing the back of his head in a nervous effort to divert the subject. He needed to see Riku, but he knew coming to see Riku would result in him having to explain the current situation, and he didn't know if he was quite ready to say it out loud yet.

"Sora." Riku said, eyes never leaving the brunette as he walked over the bed, sitting beside him, "Did something happen?"

Sora had meant to say something else, to make up something trivial and forgettable, but one look at the seriousness in the other boys face had him spilling everything, tears beginning to fall against his will.

Riku didn't say anything while he was speaking, and didn't afterwards either when the words had stopped but the tears continued. He simple wrapped his arms around him, bringing them both to rest against the wall.

They sat in silence for the better part of an hour, holding each other and mulling around their individual thoughts in their head. Sora could feel himself drifting to sleep against the others chest, lulled into comfort by the steady rise and fall matched with the thumping heart. He had all but forgotten _why_ he was here until the familiar baritone pulled him from his rest.

"Maybe…it'll be best if you go."

Sora sat up so fast he heard the air rush past his ears as he pulled out of the others arms, looking down on the other with a look as if he had just hit him. "W-what?" he asked.

Riku went to grab him to return them to their original position but Sora pulled away, getting off the bed to stand in front of the other.

"What do you mean it'll be best? Why would it be best? I thought you'd be as upset as I was Riku." Sora said with a frown, doing his best to glare at the other but afraid it didn't quite have the effect he was going for.

"Sora, I am upset but-"

"Are you tired of me? Were you just bidding your time until I disappeared and you could move on to the next guy?"

Riku felt his own frown deepening in frustration and hurt at the others accusation. "I can't believe you would even insinuate that!" he hissed through his teeth, upset that after all they had been through the other seemed to trust him so little.

"What is it then!?" Sora exclaimed loudly. "Why do you want to see me go!?"

Riku sighed, standing up to cross over to where Sora stood with his back now to him, shoulders shaking with a mix of rage and repressed sobs. "Listen. I should have chosen my words more carefully ok? I'm sorry." He said, wrapping his arms around the other and placing a reassuring kiss onto his forehead. "The last thing I would ever want is to be separated from you. These past three days were hard enough."

"Then what is it then?" Sora said quietly.

"Being mature," Riku said, holding onto the other a bit more tightly, "Means not thinking only about yourself all the time. What _I_ want is for you to stay right here with me for as long as you want to. I want everyone else to piss off and it just be me and you all day, everyday, forever. But If I said don't go, in the end it would hurt you."

Sora looked like he was going to object so Riku kissed him, a quick chaste press of the lips to silence him.

"You would have to spend possibly another year and a half in the hell of Hikari High, long after everyone you care about and who cares for you has moved on. Then in college you'd be another year and a half behind everyone again. That totals to three years of us being on different levels, inevitably growing apart." Riku stepped away so that he was eye to eye with Sora, "Then there's the financial burden on your mother that although I don't doubt she can find a way to make ends meet, the strain it would put on your family would be irreparable."

Sora looked down at this, and Riku saw this as a sign that he was digesting all the information well and agreeing with it.

"And plus." Riku said, kissing the other boys forehead once again, "I don't know about you, but I have more than enough faith that we could survive a year apart and still be ok. You could save up and finish high school on the Islands and I'll save and finish high school over here and we can pick a place and apply to schools close together for college and get a decent place to live and start over. Away from the bigotry of Hikari High and most important of all, together."

Sora seemed to consider all this quietly, and for a moment Riku was scared he was going to say it was no good and storm out, but eventually the shorter boy reached forward, pulling the other in a tight embrace. "That sounds good." He mumbled into the others chest, so low Riku almost felt the words more than he heard them.

Sora smiled, turning his head up towards the other, "I missed you." He said almost embarrassed.

Riku smiled, "me too." He leaned forward, capturing the other boys lips as if to prove it.

When they pulled away he noticed Sora was blushing and refused to meet his gaze.

"What's wrong?" Riku thought, suddenly worried that the other was having second thoughts of living with him or leaving his friends here.

"I just had a thought that…maybe I should call my mom. Apologize for being a brat about it earlier." He said quietly, bringing his eyes coyly up to meet Riku's intense gaze. "And maybe let her know where I'm staying tonight."

Riku's eyes widened large enough to pop out of their sockets before he regained his poise, "Are you…sure?" he asked, beginning to feel slightly nervous.

With a smile, Sora nodded.

* * *

The last week of school passed in a blur for Sora. Finals had crept upon them without warning and the atmosphere in the lunchroom had eerily changed with the absence of the seniors (mainly Cloud) bringing a new quiet to the room.

"That's an ugly word don't you think?" Yuffie said finally, disrupting the quiet at the table as the friends crammed for their last exams. "Final."

"I think the idea's of _finals_ in general is what's ugly." Riku grumbled flipping pages in his doodle filled notebook looking for _anything_ remotely resembling notes. "What's the point of tests all year if they're just going to force everything on you at the end anyway?"

"Cruel and unusual punishment, that's what it is." Yuffie grumbled, "Which I'm pretty sure makes this unconstitutional."

"Finals aren't so bad if you prepare yourself thoroughly." Aerith said, taking a sip of her shake, "It's only those that play around in class that are suffering now." She said giving Yuffie a pointed look

Yuffie motioned to the lunchroom, "Everyone is suffering _except_ you Aerith!" she exclaimed, making a grab for the other girl's notebook, "Share!"

Aerith pulled her notebook away from Yuffie's hands, smacking them away, "Me _and_ Sora." She said, motioning to the boy that was currently fast asleep on the table.

Riku snickered, "Sora's not suffering because he knows he'll be leaving so he doesn't care. His notes aren't any better than the rest of ours."

Aerith face palmed.

Yuffie poked Sora in the side, earning little more than a groan as he turned over, burrowing deeper into his bag, which he was using as a pillow.

"Well, while he's unconscious shall we finalize Saturday's plans?" Yuffie asked, closing her books and leaning on them with a grin.

"I've already talked to the other and everything is all set up." Aerith said, returning the other girls excited grin.

"And I've gotten clearance with Emmi." Riku said, throwing a fond look at the other boy. "I can't believe this is it." He said with a sigh.

"What do you mean?" Yuffie said frowning.

Riku shrugged, "Just. Everything will be so different next year. Leon and Cloud will be gone, Sora's leaving. Hell, even Seifer and Irvine won't be here to annoy us anymore."

Aerith smiled, "Different doesn't necessarily mean bad. And I don't know about you guys, but I have enough faith in all our friendships to know a few measly miles aren't going to do _anything_ to them."

"Here Here!" Yuffie exclaimed loudly, eyes widening as Sora shot up, awakened by her sudden outburst.

The brunette blinked twice, looking around the table for the danger.

Yuffie laughed nervously, "…whoops?"

* * *

Leon loved summer. Leon loved summer, because Cloud hated summer. The blonde couldn't take the heat, and on any day above 85 degrees would fall victim to an intense and all consuming lethargy. He would simply lie on the floor in the center of Leon's room, basking in the synthetic cool of the air conditioning without the energy to talk incessantly about nothing, much too hot to hang over the brunette like a second skin.

It wasn't a common occurrence that peace, quiet, and his boyfriend were involved in the same sentence.

Leon looked over the top of his book to steal a glance at Cloud sprawled out as if he was moments away from making a snow angel. "Is there any particular reason," Leon said, doing his best to suppress a smirk, "That you're lying on the floor and not the bed?"

The blonde opened his eyes, "Is that an invitation?" Cloud said, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

Leon rolled his eyes, fighting the urge to throw the book at him. Apparently it wasn't too hot for Cloud to be _Cloud_.

"Stay on the floor." The brunette said, returning to the book he, in all honesty, wasn't even reading.

Cloud laughed, somehow mustering up the energy to turn onto his side. "Say Leon. Have you done all your shopping for Twilight University?"

"Who said I was going to Twi U?" Leon asked, wrinkling his nose at the blonde from across the room.

Cloud's expression quickly became one of confusion, "Huh? But I assumed since you used to always do research about it and stuff."

"Yea well. I found some interesting things about other schools during my research and found one I like better."

Clouds face fell. Hollow Bastion and Twilight Town were close enough that he wasn't too worried about being separated, but he didn't know how he could handle any more distance than that. "Really?" he finally managed to croak out through his suddenly dry throat.

"Yes." Leon said, using all his energy to hold back a full blown smile now. He enjoyed torturing the blonde probably a bit _too_ much. "Like, did you know HBU's blitzball team is an A division? They're favored champions and the campus and classes are great too."

Cloud sat up, recognizing his own words from the night they won the blitzball tournament. "You mean...you…me….Hollow Bastion?!"

Leon put down his book, "I already spoke to the scout, everything's been all set up for about a month now."

Clouds grin stretched across his entire face, way too happy and relieved to be annoyed at the brunette for letting him suffer for a whole month. In two steps he had launched himself over to where the brunette sat at his desk, pressing their lips together in a chaste kiss that quickly turned heated as Leon spun the chair around so that they did not have to break apart to take a more comfortable position of Cloud sitting on the desk, bodies pressed close as starving hands roamed over familiar territory.

Leon smiled into the kiss, he _really_ loved summer.

* * *

"And that's the last of it." Sora said, taping the last box shut in preparation for the long journey back to Destiny Islands. Ten months ago he would have been ecstatic to return home, now he was reluctantly leaving it.

He looked up to where Riku stood, leaning against the closed door, looking at him with a strange expression on his face. Sora felt his stomach flip. "What's wrong?" he asked, standing up and walking over to his boyfriend.

Riku wrapped his arms around the others waist, burying his face into the others hair. "You're leaving." He said softly, sadness tugging at the end of his words. "What am I supposed to do without you?"

Sora wrapped his arms around Riku's neck, pressing his face against the others chest. "Don't you dare make me cry." He said, punching the other lightly on the shoulder. Riku pulled away slightly to smile at the brunette before leaning in for a kiss that lingered well past the need for air.

"Boys, it's time to go!" Emmi called from downstairs.

The two boys pulled apart reluctantly, grabbing the boxes left in the room before heading to the stairs.

"Surprise!"

Sora dropped his box at the base of the stairs, eyes wide in surprise as confetti popped around him. "What're you guys doing here?!" he exclaimed to the crowd of friends gathered in his foyer.

"We all came to say goodbye silly!" Yuffie exclaimed from her place beside Aerith.

"You didn't think we'd let you just leave without seeing you off did you?!" Rikku said with a smile.

"_Guys_." Sora said, feeling the threat of tears but fighting them with all his might.

"Ah! No sappiness allowed." Cloud exclaimed, ruffling the others hair. "I demand it."

"You better keep in touch!" Zell said, punching the other in the chest to solidify his statement.

"I will." Sora managed to croak, not trusting himself to say much else.

"Promise?" Aerith asked softly.

Sora nodded, quickly enveloping her in a hug.

"Thanks guys." He said, pulling away, "This means a lot."

"Here." Leon said, stepping forward to shove a round object into Sora's hands, "You're a good kid. Don't change."

"It's the winning ball!" Rikku exclaimed, "Everyone on the team signed it and wrote a message."

"Me & Aer signed it too." Yuffie exclaimed, pointing to a section.

"Stop trying to make me cry!" Sora shouted, causing everyone to laugh and everything felt _right_.

All his new friends, together, laughing without a care despite all the hardships that waited for them once they stepped outside, that was what made everything he had gone through in Traverse Town worth it.

Riku lingered by the car door, opening it as Sora approached after loading the last of the boxes in the back.

"I guess this is it." The brunette said, a sad half smile gracing his features.

"Yea," Riku breathed, neither boy making a move.

The sound of the driver sides door shutting as Sora's father got in the car broke the heavy silence and Riku's features took on a panicked expression as he rushed forward, wrapping the other in a crushing embrace.

"I don't want to let you go." He said, so softly the words were felt rather than heard.

Sora smiled, squeezing his arms around the other boy harder.

"You're not."

* * *

And Sora will get in the car, and Riku will stand on the sidewalk to watch it drive away, and he'll stay there, sitting on the curb as friends dwindle away in pairs.

It won't be until he's back at his fathers house, avoiding unpacking that Sora will notice one more box than he remembered packing. He'll sit on the plush cream colored carpet and open it, peeling back cardboard to reveal a canvas with a deep blue "1st place" ribbon pressed into the upper left hand corner.

And he _will_ cry then, finally, as he sees the painting that Riku slaved over for so long. He won't try to stop his tears as they fall, one by one onto the painting of a boy, with brown, impossibly spiky hair falling from a sky mid sunrise as a silver haired figure stands on the beach, looking up.

And he'll smile through his tears as he notices in the background, the faint, shaded shadow of two hands intertwined.

::The End::

* * *

**a|n:***pops confetti*  
YAYYY!!  
4 years after it's publish & Beautiful Disaster is _finally_ finished. I was thinking of writing an epilogue but I feel like the story ends pretty fine like this & one is not needed (if I get an overwhelming amount of people unsatisfied with it however, I may give in and just write it...but I think leaving things open is best).

Thank you soooooo much for sticking with me as long as you all did. A few of you have been with me from the VERY BEGINNING & even when I dissapeered for _months_ on end you never gave up on this story and that means the world to me :hugs:

To everyone who reviewed, alerted, favorited, or even just read anoymously THANK YOU SO MUCH.  
I hope you enjoyed the story as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Now I will focus on finishing up **Angel's Tale** & working on some new stories I have ideas for, that I plan to take a page from my favorite authors on here and make sure I have a few chapters written BEFORE I start publishing thme so that updates don't take years ha ha.

I hope you enjoyed the final chapter of **Beautiful Disaster  
** & please review!

I LOVE YOU ALLL!!!!  
(really I do, because I'm creepy like that. :hugs you against your will:)


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